Not many things are more unpleasant to watch then seeing a player hit the ground and lay in pain not able to get back up. Buster Posey showed us that in 2011 as he was taken out and laid next to home plate grinding his teeth in pain. Well yesterday Marlins big slugger Giancarlo Stanton took a pitch to the face from Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers. The pitch rose up and in, and instead of turning away or falling down to dodge it, Stanton took a check swing and got hit on the left side of his face. Stanton fell to the ground immediately and was reported bleeding mostly from the mouth. Trainers rushed out onto the field, getting there within nine seconds and immediately calling for a cart. Stanton laid on the ground as
if shot by a bullet until hauled away and taken to the hospital. There was so much blood left in the batters box the field crew had to come out before play could be resumed. Stanton has a big laceration that will require stitches and will most likely cause swelling, but that is no where near the top of the worries. Braves Heyward took the ball to the face, but recovered in time and now bats with a helmet that covers the area he took the pitch. Stanton however is reported to have multiple facial fractures and dental damage. What Stanton needs to worry about is impact to his orbital bone leading to permanent damage to his vision. Luckily the pitch his face an inch or two below the eye. Stanton is coming out of this rather lucky, as it appears he will not need any surgery and should be able to go back to Miami next week. His season is most likely over, as the team will not want to risk anything, plus it will take much more than a week for him to fully recover. The Marlins have 17 games left, though they are still fighting for the playoffs, Stanton will probably not be apart of their fight anymore in 2014. Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers send out a sincere apology to Stanton, and you can tell by his reaction feels terrible about the incident. Yesterday was a bad day for batters, as Stanton's story did cover another one. Chase Headley took a pitch to the face as well, getting hit in the jaw. His future however was not placed in question, as he is expect to miss some time currently not traveling with the Yankees.
Another big name now missing from the lineup is Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles. Davis is not in as bad of a situation as Stanton, but he is suspended for usage of amphetamines for 25 games. The Orioles lead their division by 10 games with 17 left in the season, so they will be missing their big slugger into the playoffs. The question is if they can survive 8 games without him. Though Davis is hitting only .196, he ranks second on the team behind Nelson Cruz with 26 HRs and is in third in RBIs behind Jones and Cruz. With Machado out for the season, the Orioles are turning to a lot of backups now to support them in the playoffs against possibly the Tigers, Royals, Angels etc. Missing Davis in the playoffs will result in a clutch bat that can produce runs through power. The Orioles will struggle especially since then have not been to hot recently. Davis issued an apology to his team, but if luck
takes their side or if other bats likes Hardy can step it up, a team missing Weiters, Machado, and now Davis can push their ay through to the AL Championship where Davis would most likely be able to rejoin them in their fight for the World Series.
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