Happ feels fortunate
Blue Jays pitcher Jay Happ is released from a medical center in Florida a day after being hit in the head with a line drive.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Less than 24 hours after J.A. Happ was hit on the head by a line drive and carted off the field, the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher was back at Tropicana Field yesterday.
The 30-year-old lefthander said he had a skull fracture behind his left ear that doctors believe will heal on its own, as well as a sore right knee that he tweaked when he dropped to the ground Tuesday night. Otherwise, he felt pretty good after his release from Bayfront Medical Center. He does not have a concussion.
"I feel really fortunate," Happ, who broke in with the Phillies, said after limping into Tropicana Field for a news conference. "It looks like I moved just a little bit. I don't remember doing that, but it looks like it was just enough to where it must have caught me in a better spot, because I think it could have got me head on," he said. "I've got some stitches and there's a fracture in the skull, I suppose, behind my ear, but it's not serious or threatening. We'll let those heal."
Happ, who was put on the 15-day disabled list, had a brief conversation with Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings, who hit the line drive that caught him squarely on the left side of the head. Happ shook hands with several teammates outside the Blue Jays' clubhouse while assuring each one: "I'm fine."
"He just wished me the best and hoped for a quick recovery," Happ said. "Obviously, something like that is never intentional. I let him know that I knew that and I appreciated him coming over. It's a scary thing, I'm sure on his end, too."
Though he's confident he will pitch again, he's not sure when. "From everything, CT scans of the brain, neck, spine and skull, it looks pretty good," Happ said. "I don't think there's a ton of concern."
Major League Baseball, meantime, is trying to determine the best way to protect pitchers from similar injuries. The league's senior vice president, Dan Halem, said a half-dozen companies were designing headgear for pitchers but no product so far was sufficiently protective and comfortable.