12/21/24
September 12, 2014
Giancarlo Stanton Hit in Face with 88-Mph Pitch: Miami Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton was struck in the face with an 88-mph pitch by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers Thursday night and suffered multiple facial fractures and dental damage. Stanton had to be carted off the field and taken to a nearby hospital. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke kept a visibly distraught Fiers in the game and he hit the batter who replaced Stanton with the next pitch.
Stanton listed as Questionable for tonight's game.
posted by tommybiden at 02:39 PM on September 12, 2014
I truly hope Stanton recovers both physically and emotionally. The latter may be more difficult. Two names from the Boston Red Sox are mentioned in this piece by Tony Massarotti, Tony Conigliaro and Bryce Florie. One an excellent young hitter, the other a swing man/middle reliever, neither was ever quite the same after being struck in the face by a baseball. Herb Score is another example. The only salvation from this whole thing is that there has not yet been another Ray Chapman.
posted by Howard_T at 05:04 PM on September 12, 2014
Yeah, it'll be great if Stanton makes a full recovery, and him not apparently needing surgery and having no concussion is great news. It means he should physically be fine by next season, since at 5.5 back in the WC, there's no reason for him to rush back, and as Howard_T observes, hopefully he won't internalize this and never quite play as well.
I think Fiers is blameless, from my take on the Must C video. The pitch to Stanton looks to just tail away late, or Stanton wouldn't have been swinging at it. Same with Johnson; both were swinging into a pitch that had some nasty late break, but I don't think Fiers meant either to even be a brushback pitch at all (and as rcade put it, was visibly distraught). Plus, if a pitcher had that kind of late break and control to intentionally fool a batter so bad that they swing away while getting hit in the face, he'd be a perennial 30-game winner.
Still, just an ugly at-bat; beanballs, or the line drive back to the mound, are just gut-wrenching to watch; a stadium so quiet you can hear a pin drop, hoping that the guy is alright. That's gotta be a first, right? I'm sure we've had people strike out swinging on a pitch they got hit by before, but twice in the same at-bat, much less against the pinch-hitter?
posted by hincandenza at 05:39 PM on September 12, 2014
posted by rcade at 04:08 PM on September 16, 2014
OUCH!!!
posted by Howard_T at 04:30 PM on September 16, 2014
About 10 minutes later, this happened.
How did 4 Marlins get tossed and no Brewers?