A Japanese professional baseball umpire who was struck on the head by a bat during a game two weeks ago is still unconscious, local media said. Kawakami, who was performing his first duty as a home plate umpire,

Takuto Kawakami reportedly underwent emergency surgery after being hit with a bat that escaped a batter's hand during an April 16 game and landed in intensive care.

A baseball umpire needed emergency surgery and is in intensive care after being struck in the head by an errant bat this weekend.

Jeremie Rehak absolutely ate one during Monday’s World Baseball Classic semifinal. The veteran MLB umpire Rehak was behind the plate for the WBC semifinal between Venezuela and Italy. In the bottom of the fifth inning at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.

“If they create a robot umpire that calls every strike exactly right,” the late, very entertaining baseball umpire Ron Luciano once said, “hitters will never let it survive. Whenever it makes a call against them, they will beat it to death with a bat.”

During the MLB Umpire Prospect Development Camp, each umpire's performance and abilities are evaluated by the Major League Baseball Umpire Development staff. At the conclusion of the course, positions are offered into Minor League Baseball, where an umpire begins their professional career.