“The sound of the ball off the skull of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker was a vivid thud that could be heard throughout Safeco Field.

A second later, the ballpark went silent.

For five minutes, there was no music on the loud speaker system, no noise blaring from the video board. The only voices were imagined — the prayers Shoemaker’s teammates surely whispered as they gathered around the fallen pitcher and took a position of genuflection.”

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