Matt Shoemaker

Matt Shoemaker reflects on head injury: 'I should have caught the ball'

Published Jan. 25, 2017 2:18 p.m. ET

Fox Sports

You've got to hand it to Matt Shoemaker ... he's tough as nails.

During the moments following his skull fracture on Sept. 4 via Kyle Seager's 105 MPH line drive, Shoemaker's first thought was to get back up and keep pitching.

"It seems like it happened a long time ago at this point. When I got hit, I was down on all fours. I was dizzy and light-headed, but I knew what had happened and I was trying to gather myself, too. I was actually thinking, 'Give me a second, I can get up and still pitch.' Our trainers all laughed about that later.'

Shoemaker also said during his first-person piece for MLBPlayers.com that he's fully recovered and ahead of schedule in his rehab.

The Angels will lean heavily on Shoemaker this season in hopes the fifth-year pro can regain his 2014 form, in which, he went 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA and finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

'Now I’m back where I was before the surgery. I feel good and I believe I can pick up just where I left off last August. I need to keep working hard and improve. Just like every other baseball season.'

Get more from Matt Shoemaker Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Matt Shoemaker

Los Angeles Angels

Major League Baseball