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Buffalo Bisons receiver Payton Henry hit in the head with a bat

The Buffalo Bisons’ game against the Syracuse Mets was canceled in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse after Herd catcher Payton Henry was hit in the head by a Syracuse player’s backswing .

The Bisons said Henry was taken to a Syracuse area hospital and was being evaluated, where he was described as “alert and adequately responsive.”

Henry, 26, fell on his back when he was accidentally hit on the left side of the back of the head by Mets infielder Pablo Reyes’ bat. The incident occurred on the first pitch at bat, and Henry was initially alert as he was quickly tended to by Bisons trainer Caleb Daniel and manager Casey Candaele.

But video from the room appears to show Henry going into convulsions seconds later, with his hands and legs shaking as Daniel and Candaele quickly call for help. He was treated by medical staff from both teams as well as local EMT personnel before being tied to a backboard and removed from the field 11 minutes after being struck.

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Players from both teams appeared shaken by the incident, with many Bisons on the field taking a knee while their teammate was treated.

Once Henry was taken off the field, Candaele, Syracuse manager Dick Scott, Mets general manager Jason Smorol and the umpires spoke and the decision was made to stop play for the night.

Syracuse led the game 4-2 at the time of the stoppage, and Major League Baseball ruled the game over.

Smorol addressed the crowd of 6,969 to inform them of the decision and commend the efforts of first responders.

“We are wrapping up at this point and our thoughts and prayers are with Payton Henry as he is currently on his way to the hospital,” Smorol told fans. “These are unusual and rare events that sometimes occur at major sporting events… We hope all goes well for Payton and our brothers and sisters of the Buffalo Bisons.”

Henry, a Utah native, was signed as a minor league free agent during the offseason by the Toronto Blue Jays and was playing in his 24th game for Buffalo. He played last year for the Nashville Sounds in the Milwaukee organization and has 20 games of MLB experience with the Miami Marlins in 2021 and 2022.

The #BNDrone takes you on an aerial tour of Sahlen Field in downtown Buffalo, the largest minor league baseball stadium in North America and the first retro-classic stadium in the world. The home of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, which became the stadium of the Toronto Blue Jays for parts of two seasons during the pandemic, is the subject of the latest installment of the “As We See It” photography series by the photo team. at the Buffalo News.