Twins' Sanchez nearly gets clocked by teammate's practice swing

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 29: Gilberto Celestino #67 of the Minnesota Twins bats against the Boston Red Sox on August 29, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Luckily for Gary Sanchez, it isn't called the "on-decked" circle.

As he was returning to the dugout, the Minnesota Twins catcher narrowly avoided getting drilled in the head by teammate Gilberto Celestino's practice swing on the on-deck circle.

The incident occurred before Sanchez's at-bat during a pitching change in the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. He was going to discuss the scouting report of Kendall Graveman with coaching staff.

"I had a few minutes to go and ask a couple questions about that pitcher," Sanchez said through a translator, according to the Associated Press. "I saw his bat was on his shoulder just standing there in the on-deck circle, and so I went back to the dugout, and I didn't notice he was swinging.

"He almost hit me, but thank God, nothing happened. It's just an accident. It's fine."

Sanchez wound up striking out on five pitches in the following plate appearance to end the inning.

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