Horrifying Moment During Yankees Team Workouts Today As Masahiro Tanaka Took a Giancarlo Stanton Line Drive Off His Head
Today the Yankees held their first formal team workout at Yankee Stadium as baseball gets back up and running. Everyone is up at Yankee Stadium with Florida became too risky of an option with their outbreak going on. Today's live BP session had Masahiro Tanaka facing hitters like Gleyber, Judge, Stanton, Hicks, etc. In an effort to get a more realistic feeling, Tanaka opted to not go with an L screen. Now an L screen wouldn't have saved him here (I think it was hit at just the worst spot), but I feel like that's gotta be out there if you're doing this shit. Didn't look like Tanaka was going full speed here and you can't really tell a hitter during live BP to not swing fully. It's a dangerous situation for sure and you kind of just pray you avoid anything like what happened.
In his first at bat Giancarlo ripped a line drive right back at Tanaka, drilling him in the head. Had to be coming back at him 105 mph+. Tanaka is a fantastic defensive pitcher but he had absolutely zero chance out there. The ball was hit so hard that the ricochet off Masa's head went all the way to the netting behind home plate. The sound is jarring. Stanton's reaction said it all. Worst feeling for a hitter imaginable. He knows the feeling of getting hit in the face himself and how it almost ruined his career. As a hitter you're going to feel responsible there, but it's absolutely not your fault.
(Little warning before you watch the videos below, they're very scary. The sound of the ball hitting Tanaka's head is legit horrifying. )
Tanaka was down on the ground motion less for a few minutes before sitting up and getting checked out by the training staff. He was able to walk off the field with the help of some staff. I guess that's some positive news since he actually wasn't moving right away. Just a horribly scary situation. I just hope he's okay after he gets more testing done. God fucking dammit man. This shit is all cursed. Fuck 2020. I'm sick.
Little update here: