MLB umpire Greg Gibson suffered a broken nose and a nasty gash near his eye when L.A. Angels star Torii Hunter accidentally cleated him in the face during Wednesday's game ... but Gibson tells TMZ he isn't holding a grudge.

We spoke with the 43-year-old umpire ... who tells us he's recovering nicely after Hunter's foot collided with his face during a botched slide at home plate.  

Gibson says he required 5 stitches to close the wound near his eye. During an exam with an Angels team doctor during the game, Gibson says he was informed the bridge of his nose was fractured.

Doctors also performed a CT scan, but determined he did NOT suffer any head trauma.

Gibson tells us ... Hunter visited him after the game and apologized.

Gibson says Hunter seemed "upset and worried" about the accident ... but the umpire tells us he doesn't blame Torii ... chalking it up to a "freak play ... an accident."

In fact, Gibson says Hunter is one of the nicest guys in the league ... "One of the princes of the game."

Gibson says he has another eye exam Friday morning ... and if he passes, he hopes to get back on the job ASAP.

Los Angeles Angels stud Torii Hunter was staring down the barrel of a loaded firearm yesterday ... when cops raced to his mansion in Newport, CA ... and drew their weapons on the MLB star.

Hunter admits it's kind of his fault ... explaining on Twitter that he accidentally triggered the house alarm ... and 20 minutes later cops had arrived to the property to investigate the scene.

Hunter says he went outside to talk with the cops ... and, "They drew their guns on me."

But then Hunter suggested he was racially profiled ... tweeting, "They didn't believe I lived here in Newport Coast so they walked me upstairs at gunpoint to get my ID."

He continued,  "When I showed him my ID, he said I'm an Angel fan hope u guys have a great season. ARE U KIDDING ME!!!!!! Lol."

One of Hunter's teammates chimed in with a tweet that read, "That's racist."

Hunter responded, "lol ... Now you know I can't say that."

A short time later, Hunter changed his tune ... tweeting, "Hey Twitterland! I'm not upset that the cops did their job today. I'm actually glad they were protecting home."

He added, "It was my fault that the alarm went off anyways. I just thought it was cool to let u guys know my awkward moment for today. The cops that were here today had there guns drawn but pointed downward in for safety. Those guys handled the situation like trained cops."