Longtime M’s broadcaster Rick Rizzs OK after foul ball to head

The Seattle Mariners’ Cactus League game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday afternoon in Maryvale, Arizona, came with two huge scares for the team – one on the field and one in the broadcast booth.

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On the field, after hitting a home run in his first plate appearance, Mitch Garver was hit on the hand in his next at-bat and had to leave the game. He was taken for X-rays, but as of this writing, the results have yet to be announced.

In the booth, a scare played out on air, as longtime Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs was hit in the back of the head by a foul ball off the bat of Brewers designated hitter Rhys Hoskins.

“It was coming in super hot,” broadcaster Gary Hill said.

Baseballs come back to broadcast booths several times a year, and those in the booth have good respect for the danger they can present. Ninety-nine out of 100 times, they are able to get out of the way, but this one was different. You can actually hear how fast it got to the booth just behind home plate.

“Here’s the pitch,” Rizzs relayed in his normal spring tempo before following with a very rushed, “swing and a foul.” After that, a crashing to the ground could be heard.

This was no ordinary ball back to the booth. This one found the small booth and an even smaller window in a split-second.

“Did it get you?” asked a concerned Hill, who dived in to try to catch Rizzs.

“Oh. Oh man, it hit me in the head,” Rizzs said softly.

Hill threw the inning to break.

“I wasn’t sure if it got him, and a voice said, ‘It got me in the head,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, no,'” Hill said. “He’s down on the ground. That’s when it got me, and I’m waving to our baseball ops group in the next booth to get some medical people in here and I threw it to break.”

Rizzs remembers the entire incident.

“I turned my head just in time,” Rizzs said. “It was coming for my face. I thought I got out of the way in time. I was trying to get underneath the windowsill, and it came in and got me right in the back of the head. I’ve got a big, old egg on the back of my head.”

While he was down on the ground and medics were entering the booth, Rizzs reached out and touched Hill’s ankle and had a few more words for him.

“I told Gary, ‘Keep doing the play-by-play,'” Rizzs said with his trademark laugh. “The show must go on, baby!”

Easier said than done with medics and team doctors filling the room to attend to Rizzs.

“The next two innings, as the booth is full (and) there’s medical staff everywhere, I’m just watching this, glancing at the field and then just, ‘Here’s the pitch,'” Hill said. “I don’t even know what I said in the moment. I was terrified, because I didn’t know (if Rizzs was OK).

“It was the oddest two innings I’ve ever called, because nothing seemed more secondary than what was happening on the field. Nothing on the field mattered, but Rick told me to carry on, thank God.”

#Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs has returned to the booth after being struck by a foul ball, assuring fans he's "sore" but ok. 🫶

📲 Stream the M's vs Brewers Spring Training game LIVE on the Seattle Sports App. https://t.co/maHBzOxo7v https://t.co/ZkpK9AhiPR pic.twitter.com/0Sqo8GwT0B

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) March 10, 2025

It was without a doubt a scary incident for all who were present, but eventually Rizzs rejoined the broadcast and finished the game. It appears he is a little worse for wear, but it indeed could have been much worse.

“It hurts. It’s sore,” Rizzs said. “I was worried about my neck, but it is fine. Dr. Hank Pelto came up. He was here, thank goodness. I passed all the tests. I’m fine. I’ve got a big lump on the back of my head, it’s sore and I’m going to have a headache tonight, but I am going to be fine. The medical crew here at the park was great. They came up right away.”

Rizzs was told of the response by fans on social media and had a message for them.

“Tell everybody I’m fine,” he said. “A little sore, but I’m fine.”

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