Tanaka back with Yankees after
taking 112 mph liner to head
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[July 06, 2020]
New York Yankees right-hander
Masahiro Tanaka was back at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, a day after
getting hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo
Stanton.
Tanaka's quick return -- and relatively minor injuries -- is even
more amazing when considering the speed at which that line drive was
traveling when it hit Tanaka.
"That ball came back, I think they said 112 mph," Yankees lefty
James Paxton told reporters Sunday.
The official diagnosis for Tanaka is a mild concussion, manager
Aaron Boone told reporters.
"He came in around noon today and was in really good spirits," Boone
said of Tanaka. "Got a really good night sleep; no loss of appetite.
We're encouraged where he is and we'll take it day by day, but
hopefully it's not something that'll take too long. Since he got to
the hospital, he's pretty much been symptom free and feeling good
... (and was) in good spirits popping around today, so I think at
this point we're really encouraged."
The scene was quite different a day earlier, as trainers and
teammates immediately ran to the mound at Yankee Stadium to assist
Tanaka, who remained on the ground for several minutes. The Japanese
hurler was able to walk off the field with some assistance.
Tanaka, a two-time All-Star, posted an 11-9 record with a 4.45 ERA
in 32 appearances (31 starts) last season with New York. The
31-year-old sports a 75-43 record with a 3.75 ERA in six seasons
with the Yankees.
The other big news Sunday was Paxton, who threw live batting
practice for the first time as he recovers from back surgery in
February. He told reporters he is back to full health. The
31-year-old is entering his second season with New York. He posted a
15-6 record -- setting a career best for victories -- with a 3.82
ERA and 186 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings last season.
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Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) pitches during
workouts at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY
Sports
On Sunday, he threw behind a protective screen during batting
practice. That was an issue Saturday as Tanaka was not using the
screen as pitchers have the option of using it or ditching it for
live batting sessions.
"What happened yesterday was so scary. After seeing that happen, I
just wanted to play it safe, especially first time out there,"
Paxton said of using the screen. "Luckily it doesn't happen very
often, but I just wanted to play it safe the first time out. Next
time it'll be more of a sim game setting, so the screen won't be out
there. But, especially after yesterday, it was a conscious decision
just to have it out there for safety."
"Obviously it's incredibly unfortunate what happened today," Boone
said Saturday after Tanaka was hit, before later adding,
"Unfortunately that's sometimes the risk that goes along with it.
You do your best to protect guys, but you're not going to have a
screen out there all the time."
--Field Level Media
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