The Art of Ducking

Again, I take requests. Even morbid ones.

"Juan Encarcion (sp?) getting nailed in the eye. Who are some past baseball players who suffered from running their eye into a ball and how many were career ending injuries?"

Juan Encarnacion, while standing in the on-deck circle, was struck in the eye by a foul ball last Friday. The injury will end his season and potentially his career. This incident comes just a little over a month after a minor league coach was struck and killed by a foul ball. Helmets protect your head, but they don't protect your face.

In 1995 Kirby Puckett was struck in the face by a Dennis Martinez pitch. The blow broke his jaw and ended his season (the incident occurred in late September, and he only missed the final three games of the regular season). Some speculate that this injury led to the glaucoma that soon ended his career, but this hasn't been proven.

Twenty-two year-old Boston sensation Tony Conigliaro, who had led the league in home runs in only his second season and still holds the record for most home runs by a teenager, was hit in the cheekbone by Jack Hamilton in 1967. Tony C returned to baseball in 1969 and hit 20 home runs, then followed that up with a 36 home run season in 1970. But his eyesight grew worse and he soon had to retire from baseball. Due to being such a prolific hitter at so young an age, people often wonder how good he could have been had he not been struck in the face by a baseball.

Herb Score was an outstanding young pitcher for Cleveland who led the league in strikeouts his first two seasons. In his fifth start of the 1957 season he was struck in the face by a ball hit by Gil McDougald. Score had several broken bones in his face and missed the remainder of the season, but his eyesight was unaffected. Unfortunately after his 1958 return he adjusted his pitching motion, consequently making him a less effective pitcher. He only pitched one complete season afterwards and retired at the age of 29.

Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman became the only Major Leaguer to have ever died as a result of a bean ball. Chapman was batting .303 when he was struck by a Carl Mays pitch on August 16, 1920. The Indians went on to win their first World Series that season and wore black arm bands in Chapman's memory. Though Carl Mays was an excellent pitcher, his reputation was forever tarnished by the incident (apparently he was also a bit of a jerk, which didn't help matters). Chapman's replacement at short, rookie Joe Sewell, went on to have a Hall of Fame career.

Don Zimmer has been hit in the head by pitches at least twice; once in the minors in 1953 in an incident that nearly killed him, and once again in 1956. The 1953 beaning left him unconscious for two weeks and he had to have screws put into his head. The 1956 beaning broke his cheekbone and ended his season.

In a famous incident Joe Medwick was beaned by Bob Bowman in 1940. Both had been teammates just six day before, and it's been disputed whether or not Bowman hit Medwick on purpose. Regardless, Medwick was knocked unconscious and missed a couple games with a concussion, though he was able to continue his Hall of Fame career.

There are a ton of other incidents. Boston pitcher Bryce Florie's was an ugly one in 2000, as was Dodger pitcher Kaz Ishii's in 2002. Although Ishii had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, he would come back to pitch for several more seasons. In fact he still pitches in Japan. Florie would only pitch in seven more big league games in 2001.

Billy Wagner has been hit by a comebacker, as has Andy Pettitte. Mike Piazza's taken one to the head, as has Sammy Sosa. Each were able to continue their careers with little ill effects. Baseball is a game of inches, but sometimes it's a millimeter's difference between a sore noggin and a career-ending injury.