Manny Gonzalez worked four innings in 90-degree heat and humidity Monday night before his vision went blurry behind the plate.
The home plate umpire left the Padres-Reds series opener Aug. 31 at Great American Ball Park with heat exhaustion, MLB umpire supervisor Randy Marsh said. The game stopped for 14 minutes and finished with a three-man crew. MLB said Gonzalez suffered heat illness and was receiving care.
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It was 90 degrees with 61% humidity at first pitch in Cincinnati.
As the Reds took the field for the top of the fifth, Gonzalez was in trouble. Third-base umpire Tom Hanahan got to him first. Reds head trainer Sean McQueeney followed, then medical staff from both clubs ran out. Gonzalez sat on the grass while they worked on him.
He walked off with the Reds’ assistant trainer Tomas Vera, down to the medical area under the ballpark. He was also dehydrated and his blood pressure was up, according to reports.
Most of the delay was due to equipment change. D.J. Reyburn had been working first base. To call balls and strikes he had to put on the gear for working behind the plate, including his chest protector, mask and metal-toed shoes.
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No. 10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle: This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style” retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
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No. 10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle: This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style” retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
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No. 9. Camden Yards, Baltimore: Meet the godfather, with its famous B&O Warehouse. This is the original retro-classic ballpark that not only dramatically influenced the look of new stadiums, but changed the fabric of some major cities. Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco and San Diego followed its lead and built downtown ballparks that completely invigorated growth.
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No. 8. Coors Field, Denver: The team may stink but the ballpark is so beautiful and the vibe is so cool that it’s become a destination on its own. There’s a purple row of seats signifying the mile-high altitude, and the bullpen could be mistaken for a forest with its trees and running stream. The right-field upper-deck is the hottest bar in Denver.
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No. 7. Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles: This is the most serene setting in baseball, nestled into the hillside of Chavez Ravine. It has a view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield, and downtown Los Angeles behind home plate. It’s hard to believe it was built in 1962 and even though it holds 56,000 fans, it still feels intimate.
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No. 6. Oracle Park, San Francisco: This ballpark has the second-best view in baseball behind PNC Park with its bay backdrop and splash-down hits in McCovey Cove, but only if you happen to sit in the upper deck. The park is already showing its age and its concourses are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around, with the Giants already out-growing the place and badly needing more space.
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No. 5. Petco Park, San Diego: This gorgeous park doesn’t quite have the stunning views as Pittsburgh or San Francisco, but it’s pretty darn close. The architecture is beautiful and the old Western Metal Company warehouse in left-field gives it a retro look. It also happens to be located in the heart of the lively Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego.
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No. 4. Target Field, Minneapolis: This may be the most impressive urban design in baseball on its downtown eight-acre site with freeways and trains outside the park, and warehouses to the left. It also has an ultra-modern look inside, with a 360-degree open concourse, that celebrates the club’s glorious history. Its nod to the retro look is the iconic neon Minnie and Paul home-run sign featuring two ballplayers shaking hands over the Mississippi River representing the Twin Cities.
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No 3. PNC Park, Pittsburgh: The most gorgeous ballpark in America. Forget the game on the field. You want to be sitting in the upper deck taking in the view of the Clemente Bridge, the Pittsburgh skyline and the Allegheny River. It’s magnificent.
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No. 2. Wrigley Field, Chicago: There’s not a more beautiful sight than walking into the ballpark and taking your first look at that beautiful green grass, the ivy on the walls and the iconic scoreboard in center field. Taking in a Friday afternoon game, hitting Murphy Bleachers afterward, and enjoying the Chicago nightlife is utopia for any baseball fan.
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No. 1 Fenway Park, Boston: No ballpark in America has the romantic feel or the unique quirks of Fenway Park, from the Green Monster to Pesky’s Pole. It’s not a baseball game, but a religious experience watching games at Fenway.
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Hall of Famer Barry Larkin was calling the game on Reds’ television and recalled an awful moment from his playing days.
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On April 1, 1996, Opening Day at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, the Reds and Expos were seven pitches in when home-plate umpire John McSherry called time. He said something to Reds catcher Eddie Tausbensee and started for the tunnel. He signaled for the second-base umpire to take his spot, and then collapsed, face down on the warning track. He was 51, and he was pronounced dead at University Hospital of a heart attack.
Larkin was 31 and playing shortstop.
“Scary stuff. Very hot and humid today,” he said Monday night during the broadcast of teh Reds’ game vs. the San Diego Padres.
Gonzalez left on his own feet and the game resumed.
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He is 46 and in his 14th season on the MLB umpiring staff. He became the first full-time big league umpire from Venezuela when he was promoted in 2013 and has worked five postseason series and the 2017 All-Star Game.
“It just brings back some awful memories for me, when I was on the field and John McSherry was behind home plate,” Larkin said on the broadcast.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Umpire Manny Gonzalez leaves Reds vs. Padres game with ‘heat illness’
