What happened to Jonathan India? All you need to know about Emmanuel Clase’s 99mph HBP incident

Modified Mar 31, 2025 05:18 GMT

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase had an unfortunate interaction with Royals infielder Jonathan Inida (Imagn)

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and Royals infielder Jonathan India were involved in an unfortunate incident in the game between their squads on Sunday afternoon. Clase threw a 99 mph pitch that went straight to India's head. After getting hit, India was visibly upset while holding his jaw as he headed to the dugout.

After the incident, Clase himself looked remorseful about what transpired. India was seen looking back onto the field before being persuaded to turn back, presumably to the locker room to get further tests done.

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The Royals then deployed MJ Melendez as the pinch-runner after the hit-by-pitch. The scoreline would hold 6-2 in favor of the Guardians as the team took the rubber match of the opening series, improving their season record to 2-1.

As for the Royals, they are now 1-2 as they travel to Milwaukee to face the Brewers for a three-game set.

Emmanuel Clase clears air about HBP incident

In interview with MLB.com after the game, Clase quickly refuted the notion that he intentionally plunked Jonathan India in the series-closeing game between the two squads. He shared that he reached out to Royals captain Salvador Perez to get an update on how India is faring.

"I [texted Salvador Perez], 'Please just check on him and say that it wasn't intentional,'" Clase said through an interpreter. "It was just a pitch that slipped out of my hands," he added.

India was traded to the Kansas City Royals in November after four years with the Cincinnati Reds. Emmanuel Clase meanwhile, has been a top caliber closer since 2022 and is the reigning AL Reliever of the Year.

After the game, Guardians manager and former catcher Stephen Vogt also shared his thoughts about the event.

"I hope everything's okay. It's never fun when you see someone get hit up around the head area.I wish him well. I hope it's nothing too serious and he's okay. Those are just scary events," said Vogt.

It will certainly be interesting to see the next matchup between the two squads after what transpired between Emmanuel Clase and Jonathan India. The next series will be hosted by the Guardians that is scheduled on April 11, 2025.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Brad Taningco