Giancarlo Stanton recalls grisly details of taking fastball to face
The baseball world took a collective gasp in September of last year as Miami Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton lie on the dirt squirming in pain after taking an 88-mph fastball straight to the cheek.
Would he be OK? How long would he be out? Would he be able to recover mentally?
Stanton sustained lacerations and fractures to his face as well as dental damage and missed the remainder of the 2014 season, costing him a proper chance to battle with Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw for MVP votes.
However, Stanton is already on his way to another MVP-caliber season with the offensive numbers he's put up in 2015.
Following the potentially career-altering injury, Stanton hasn't miss a beat since returning to the batter's box, and hasn't the slightest bit appeared traumatized by the incident.
"Little scar here," he told Canada's Sportsnet as he pointed to his cheek. "Some dental work and as good as new."
Stanton revealed his firsthand account of the incident.
"I remember the ball halfway to me and then I'm on the ground pretty much," he recalled. “[It] felt like I only had gums on one side. Don't know why I had that feeling. My mouth was full of blood, headache, ears ringing."
Other than a cage he uses to protect his cheek when facing right-handed pitchers, no remnants of Stanton's injury have lingered, and his production at the plate hasn't waned.
Fifty-nine games into the season, Stanton has 21 home runs and 51 RBI with a .911 OPS.
(h/t Sportsnet)
Photo credit: Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports
