June 6: A Milestone HR, a Broken Nose, an Injured Umpire, and Collapsed Netting

The Main Event

• June 6, 2021 – The Phils won a wild 12-6 game over Washington, thanks in part to J.T. Realmuto‘s 100th career home run. It took four hours and six minutes, not counting 20 minutes to fix the protective netting behind home plate that fell during play.

Milestone moments in baseball rarely arrive cleanly, but J.T. Realmuto’s 100th career home run came wrapped in one of the most surreal afternoons Citizens Bank Park has ever witnessed. On June 6, 2021, the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 12-6, with Realmuto delivering a landmark blast in a game that also featured a pitcher’s broken nose, an injured umpire, and the protective netting literally collapsing onto the field.

Realmuto’s Road to 100

Jacob Tyler Realmuto, born in Del City, Oklahoma, was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and made his major league debut on June 5, 2014. He spent his early years grinding through a rebuilding Marlins organization, steadily developing into the best catcher in the game.

By the time he arrived in Philadelphia via trade in February 2019, Realmuto had finished his final Marlins season with career highs in games, runs, home runs, and RBI, earning recognition as a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove finalist, and the Marlins’ internal “Mr. Marlin” award from the South Florida chapter of the BBWAA. His first two seasons as a Phillie made him the most coveted free agent catcher in memory, earning All-Star and Silver Slugger honors in 2019, and prompting a fan-driven “Sign J.T.” campaign when his contract expired after 2020. In January 2021, Realmuto and the Phillies agreed to a five-year, $115.5 million contract, the largest for any catcher in MLB history.

He entered the June 6 game with 99 career home runs across parts of seven major league seasons, representing the arc of a career built on elite two-way production — a power-hitting catcher who was simultaneously the standard-bearer for defense at his position.

The 100th Home Run

Realmuto crushed a three-run home run off Washington reliever Tanner Rainey, who threw him a four-seam fastball, in the bottom of the sixth inning. The blast was the 100th of his career, extending the Phillies’ lead to 12-6. It was a fitting blow from a hitter who had transformed the offensive expectations for the catcher position. “I was in shock,” Realmuto said afterward. He was one of three Phillies with multi-hit games on the day, as Realmuto, Odúbel Herrera, and Andrew McCutchen each finished with two hits apiece.

A Seven-Run Fourth and a Cast of Characters

The game’s decisive sequence came in the bottom of the fourth inning, and it was a portrait in Nationals dysfunction. It was a mess that included second baseman Jordy Mercer dropping a popup in shallow right field, reliever Kyle Finnegan walking back-to-back hitters with the bases loaded, third baseman Starlin Castro fielding a grounder on his heels and throwing to second too late, Brad Miller sprinting home on a third-strike wild pitch, and a two-run single from Odúbel Herrera to cap the damage — one of only three hits in the frame. The Phillies turned a 3-0 deficit into a 7-3 lead without needing to do much more than stay at the plate.

Phillies starter Vince Velasquez was far from dominant, but his day took on a darker dimension in the third inning. Nationals starter Austin Voth — pitching in place of ace Stephen Strasburg in a bullpen game — was struck in the face by a Velasquez fastball while squaring around to bunt. The ball appeared to deflect off the bill of Voth’s batting helmet before catching him across the nose, and he exited covering a gash with a towel. He would spend that night in a Philadelphia hospital having his nose reset. “It’s tough when you see something on TV and see guys get hit in the head, it’s scary,” Velasquez said. “When you visually see it first hand, it can be traumatizing and tough.”

The injury troubles began even before the first pitch was fully settled. Plate umpire Brian O’Nora was struck in the mask by a foul tip off the bat of Josh Bell in the top of the first. He was examined by Phillies trainers and initially remained in the game, but rushed down the dugout ramp after just a few pitches and did not return. Crew chief Fieldin Culbreth replaced him, resulting in a nine-minute delay. It also marked the major league debut of Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley after the club placed pitchers Chase Anderson and David Hale on the COVID-related injured list. Sanchez allowed one hit while striking out two in 1⅓ innings.

When the Net Came Down

The game’s most surreal chapter arrived in the top of the eighth inning. With Trea Turner – then a member of the Nationals – batting and two outs, the protective netting behind home plate and over the two dugouts at Citizens Bank Park suddenly sagged toward the field without warning, triggering a 20-minute delay. The cause appeared to be a structural failure triggered by a Turner foul ball snapping a rope in the support system. “I don’t know if the rope snapped or what,” Realmuto said. “I saw out of the corner of my eye after that pitch. I didn’t know how to respond to it.”

What followed was an improvised solution that earned the Citizens Bank Park grounds crew perhaps their finest moment. “They did a nice little pulley system when they did that and walked it up the stairs,” Realmuto said. Manager Joe Girardi added: “I thought our grounds crew did a great job getting it back up.” Nationals manager Dave Martinez, summing up a day that had already included a broken nose and a departed umpire, offered the perfect coda: “The net falls on our heads. That’s the topper.”

No fans appeared to be injured in the netting collapse, though the image of stadium workers and tractors scrambling to hoist the screen back into place while 15,000 fans watched from the stands was one no one at Citizens Bank Park that Sunday afternoon would soon forget. For J.T. Realmuto, his 100th career home run had arrived in the most Philadelphia way imaginable.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for June 6

• June 6, 1912 – Signed free agent Eppa Rixey. The left-handed pitcher played 21 seasons, 13 with Cincinnati and eight with the Phillies. Rixey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 1963.
• June 6, 1928 – Cy Williams hit a pinch-hit home run to help the Phils beat Chicago 5-3. He also went deep in his previous pinch-hitting appearance four days earlier.
• June 6, 1930 – Denny Sothern hits a major league record four doubles in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 14-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
• June 6, 1937 – In the second game of a doubleheader that had been delayed by rain, the Phils fell behind 8-2 then began stalling to force the cancellation due to a 7 p.m. curfew. The umpire forfeited the game to the visiting Cardinals, and manager Jimmie Wilson was fined $100.
• June 6, 1939 – Released future Hall of Famer Chuck Klein, who would sign with Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. Klein would be re-signed by the Phillies in 1940 and continue his career with them until June 12, 1944 when he was again released by the Phillies, ending his career.
• June 6, 1959 – Signed minor league free agent Ray Culp, who would break into the majors with the Phillies in 1963 and be elected to the All-Star Game that season. After four seasons with the Phillies, Culp went to the Cubs where he played for a season and then finished his career with six seasons in Boston.
• June 6, 1959 – Traded Willie Jones to Cleveland for Jim Bolger and cash.
• June 6, 1962 – The Phillies win both ends of a double-header to finish a sweep of the Mets, handing them their 17th straight loss, a major-league record.
• June 6, 1964 – Tony Gonzalez becomes the first National League player to wear a batting helmet with a molded ear flap. He had been hit in the head by pitches several times earlier in the season, so the Phillies ordered the helmet, a modified version of those used by Little Leaguers.
• June 6, 1965 – Johnny Callison hit three home runs in a game for the second time in his career, leading the Phillies to a 10-9 win over Chicago.
• June 6, 1967 – Traded Bob Uecker to Atlanta for Gene Oliver. Uecker had played 98 games over two seasons with the Phillies (1966 and 1967). Oliver would play 85 games with the 1967 Phillies before dealt to Boston in the trade that brought Mike Ryan to the Phillies.
• June 6, 1971 –  Willie Mays hits a 12th-inning home run off Joe Hoerner of the Philadelphia Phillies, his 22nd – and last – career extra-inning homer, a major-league mark.
• June 6, 1972 – In the midst of a streak of 18 losses in 19 games, the Phillies tried to change their luck with “Turn it Around Day.” The lineup was announced in reverse order, last names first. The seventh inning stretch took place in the third inning. The scoreboard welcomed groups not in attendance. Ushers wore their hats backwards with their nametags on their backs. It didn’t help, as the team dropped a 4-3 decision to Houston.
• June 6, 1990 – Von Hayes ties a team and National League record with five walks in a game against St. Louis.
• June 6, 2005 – Infielder Placido Polanco is sent by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for reliever Ugueth Urbina and utility infielder Ramón Martinez. Urbina, a two-time All-Star as a closer, will become the setup man for Billy Wagner in Philadelphia, and Polanco will become the starting second baseman in Detroit.

Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for June 6

• Ray Pierce (born 1897) – A lefty with the 1925 and 1926 Phillies. Went 7-11, 5.56 in 15 starts and 45 relief outings. Also pitched one season for the Cubs.
• Fresco Thompson (born 1902) – A second baseman acquired by the Phillies in January of 1927 in a three-team trade with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Robins. Played four seasons in Philadelphia with 12 home runs and 219 RBI. Slashed .300/.353/.404/.757.
• Ray Stoviak (born 1915) – His MLB career consisted of 10 games with the 1938 Phillies as a pinch-hitter. He finished his career 0-for-10.
• Bud Harrelson (born 1944) – Best known as a middle infielder with the New York Mets, Harrelson played two seasons (1978-1979) in Philadelphia. Had a 16 season MLB career with the Mets, Phillies, and Rangers. Also managed the Mets in 1990 and ’91 with a 145-129 record.
• Ethan Martin (born 1989) – Drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2008 Draft (15th overall pick), the righty was acquired from the Dodgers in 2012 in the deal that sent Shane Victorino to LA. In eight starts and nine relief outings with the Phillies he went 2-5, 5.93.

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