MLB Umpire Joe West Hit In Head by Fan in Milwaukee: Watch

MILWAUKEE, WI — The early stages of Friday's game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins was delayed after umpire Joe West was struck in the head by a baseball apparently thrown by someone in the stands in Milwaukee.

As the video shows, Umpire West has his eyes trained at home plate in the first inning as a baseball strikes him square in the back of the head. The angle of the thrown ball indicates it was launched from the right field box seats.

According to WTMJ.com, West, 64, worked his 5,000th career regular-season game last week. He's the third umpire to work at least 5,000 games, joining Hall of Famer Bill Klem (5,375) and Bruce Froemming (5,163). His 40 seasons umpiring in the majors are the most by any umpire.

West remained on his feet after the fateful throw on Friday, and a seven-minute delay ensued as security personnel roused and attempted to locate the person responsible.

Marlins pitcher Brad Ziegler, who was at the game but on the disabled list, tweeted out his reaction to the unruly fan behavior.

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image via patch.com