SAN DIEGO -- Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran collided so violently in the outfield, face-to-face while diving for a ball, that the first New York Mets teammates who reached them were shaken by what they saw.
"I couldn't imagine being a paramedic going to the scene of a wreck. That's what that was, pretty much, a wreck," said first baseman Marlon Anderson, who ran to the fallen outfielders in the seventh inning of the Mets' 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
Cameron was dazed and bleeding from his mouth.
"I couldn't go over there, man," left fielder Cliff Floyd said. "Once I saw the blood, I'm not good with blood.
"It choked me up for a minute. We were laughing and giggling one minute, the next minute, a man's down on the ground, both of them."
Cameron and Beltran were hospitalized overnight.
Cameron was taken off the field on a stretcher, his body immobilized and his neck in a brace. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he underwent two CT scans. Cameron broke his nose, had multiple fractures of both cheekbones and a slight concussion, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said. Cameron was placed on the disabled list.
Beltran had a cut near his left temple and his left shoulder was heavily wrapped when he spoke with reporters in the clubhouse. He later was taken to Scripps Clinic for tests.
"I don't remember anything of what happened," Beltran said. "I don't remember how it happened. I know we got hit. I feel like I got hit by a train."
On what turned out to be the game's pivotal play, Cameron and Beltran both sprinted toward David Ross' sinking line drive, watching the ball and diving toward the same spot in medium right-center. They didn't see each other and hit in what many of their teammates said was one of the scariest collisions they've ever seen.
"It's terrible," said catcher Mike Piazza, who had the day off and watched from the dugout.
Cameron was fully extended when he and Beltran collided, falling into a heap. The game was delayed for about 13 minutes as the players were tended to by trainers from both teams, then paramedics.
Cameron lifted up his head at one point. He lay on his back at first, then on his left side, apparently to help the blood drain from his mouth. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he was put onto a stretcher by paramedics, lifted onto a cart and driven off the field.
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