KEY POINTS:
A former World Series winning Black Sox softballer is in Hospital with head injuries after being bashed with a crowbar as he walked along a road.
Paul Algar, a World Series-winning pitcher in 2000 in South Africa for New Zealand, was walking in Titahi Bay, Porirua, about 2am on Saturday when a verbal altercation took place with another man.
Detective Slade Sturmey said the offender took a metal crowbar from the boot of his vehicle and beat Algar around the head.
Algar fell to the ground and was hit several more times before the offender jumped on him, punching him, until an onlooker yelled at him.
The man then got into his vehicle and drove away.
"As a result of the assault, the victim has received a fracture of the skull, multiple lacerations and severe bruising of the head and facial area, which required hospital treatment," Mr Sturmey said.
Algar, 42, has been playing and coaching in the United States, and has also played for the country's national side.
Mr Sturmey said Algar, who is recovering in Wellington Hospital, did not know his attacker.
The man was described as Maori, aged 35-40, about 180cm tall, with black dreaded hair below his shoulders, of slim build with a distinctive tattoo around his neck, and wearing dark jeans, a dark top and a distinctive white coloured taonga/necklace around his neck.
Mr Sturmey said the man was seen with a female companion drinking in a local bar earlier that night.
Anybody with information should contact Porirua police.
- NZPA
