By: Yeeyao Wong
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper broke his left thumb when he was hit by a baseball from Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, an injury that will change his life forever.
Harper was injured in the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 4-2 win at the stadium in Petco Park when he checked his swing as Snell threw and the ball hit his hand as he looked away. The team said that he will be out for a while, and with further medication planned in the next few days.
“I have never had a hand injury like this, Harper said to reporters as he stood at his locker after the game ended, wearing a sort of cast on his thumb. “Never broken anything in my life. This is new to me, so I’m just going to go day by day, see kind of where we’re at and see the specialist in Philly. And if I do need to see another specialist somewhere, then I will.”
After he was hit, Harper fell to his knees in immediate and severe pain, clutching his hand as Phillies trainer Paul Buchheit ran onto the field. There were no immediate details on the injury, and Phillies General Manager Dave Dombrowski, who was traveling with the Phillies, said he wasn’t sure whether he needed surgery or not.
Last season, Harper only missed a few games after he was smacked in the face by a 98-mph fastball thrown by Genesis Cabrera of the Saint Louis Cardinals, but that was a different type of injury.
“I kind of wish it would’ve hit me in the face. I don’t break bones in my face,” Harper laughed. “I can take a 98-mph pitch to the face, but I can’t take 97 to the thumb. Yeah, I was kind of in protection mode a little bit trying to get my hand up there and not let it hit me again. It’s just a bummer. I am really bummed out.”
That was true when he left the field, directing rude comments toward Snell, who said it was not intentional. Moments later, Harper’s face said: “I know, I know.”
“It wasn’t heated at all,” Harper said. “It was just the moment and a crappy situation. I’ve been playing against Blake since we were 10, 11 years old, so I know there was no ill will behind that at all. The inside pitch is part of the game. He is a great player and a great human being as well. I wish him the best, and I told him to keep throwing that inside fastball because it sets up that slider really good.”