Exactly why the Mets staff got this exactly right. A kick to the head with loss of consciousness is treated as a potential cervical spine injury until proven otherwise. That’s the standard. When an athlete is down and unresponsive, you don’t slide your hands under and hope. You hold the spine still, you spine board, and you transport for imaging. If the neck is fine, you’ve lost nothing. If it isn’t, you’ve just saved a career or a life. The detail that matters from last night: he was moving his head on his own before leaving the field. Purposeful movement after a head knock is a genuinely good early sign, but it changes nothing about protocol. Evaluation still happens at the hospital, imaging still rules out structural injury, and the concussion workup starts after. Loss of consciousness alone means removal from play, full stop. No same day return, no exceptions. This is what a good emergency action plan looks like in real time. Staff on the field in seconds, no rush to stand him u...