Orioles' handling of Heston Kjerstad injury only makes debacle looks worse

In the midst of a hotly-contested divisional race, the benches cleared at Camden Yards in the ninth inning after New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes drilled Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad in the helmet with a 97 MPH sinker that didn't sink. New York would win the game on Friday night 4-1, as well as the following game on Saturday, 6-1. Lost in the shuffle was Baltimore's decision.

Despite clearly being messed up from the fastball to the dome, Baltimore still briefly pencilled in Kjerstad into the starting lineup. The Orioles had a graphic out there on social media for the entire world to question. Then, Kjerstad was pulled from the starting lineup, only to be placed on the injured list for the seven-day concussion protocol. Like, this should have been their first order of business.

Concussions are nowhere near as rampant in baseball as their are in football and soccer, but we have to be better about this, man. Sports often have some regulated component of violence baked into it. While baseball is still very much a strategy game based on skill that is amplified by athleticism, players will occasionally get concussed. Could you imagine if this happened in the NFL once again?

This isn't like the Miami Dolphins sending it in with an out-of-sorts Tua Tagovailoa, but it still isn't great.

Baltimore should have gotten out ahead of this to rule Kjerstad out for Saturday well before start time.

Baltimore Orioles completely mismanaged Heston Kjerstad situation

Something must have gotten lost in translation along the way. One would think that as soon as a guy got drilled in the head in the ninth inning that he would be checked for a concussion. The Orioles, or really any professional organization for that matter, has the necessary resources to accurately conduct a test of this magnitude. We as fans didn't need to wait in limbo for some 18 hours with this.

I get that tensions boiled over in the heat of the moment with the benches-clearing brawl and all, but you can't skip steps, especially when it comes to player safety. Like, is this not something that the MLBPA collectively bargains for? To make sure something like this doesn't happen. Injuries are a part of the game, but there should be a standard procedure that every franchise should be able to follow.

Ultimately, this brief moment of aggression will serve as a turning point for these two AL East franchises. Are you going to win the division or not? Can you keep Boston, and I guess Tampa Bay, ... at bay? It is neck and neck heading into the All-Star Break. With two and a half months left to be had during the regular season, surely we haven't seen the last of these two bitter rivals in the AL East.

Kjerstad's injury should have him back with the Orioles by the end of next week if he clears protocol.