There’s a reason the game of baseball is often referred to as “hardball.” The baseball itself is anything but soft, and when it makes square contact with an object, it’s going to make a loud sound — like a great crack of the bat — and it’s going to leave a mark.
Or, more specifically, as in the case of Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, it's going to leave a really nasty baseball-sized welt.
Whoever can find where I got hit today, wins a prize! #fruitloop #dontrubit pic.twitter.com/I9PzEWt1v8 — Jason Kipnis (@TheJK_Kid) March 14, 2014
That unattractive owwie came courtesy of a Jeremy Guthrie fastball on Thursday.
Guthrie, of course, is not known for his velocity, but that pitch obviously had some extra giddy up on it. Perhaps he sacrificed location to add a couple extra ticks, because that can't be anywhere near where he was aiming. That's a square shot in the back that indicates the left-handed swinging Kipnis turned inward to brace himself for impact. Had he not turned, he would have worn that in the ribcage, and chances are he wouldn't have felt like tweeting a photo afterward.
Unless he was tweeting an X-ray.
As it is, the welt probably felt every bit as painful as it looked at that moment. We're sure sleeping on his back wasn't an option on Thursday night, but it didn't prevent him from playing on Friday. Kipnis went 0 for 2 with a walk before taking a scheduled day off on Saturday.

BLS H/N: Eye on Baseball
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813