Rockies Pitcher Suffers Fractured Skull After Line Drive Hits Him in the Head

Rockies Pitcher Suffers Fractured Skull After Line Drive Hits Him in the Head,Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner sustained a skull fracture and a concussion on Saturday night when he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia Phillies player Nick Castellanos, according to Rockies manager Bud Black (per MLB.com). Feltner spent the night at a Denver area [...]

Rockies Pitcher Suffers Fractured Skull After Line Drive Hits Him in the Head

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner sustained a skull fracture and a concussion on Saturday night when he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia Phillies player Nick Castellanos, according to Rockies manager Bud Black (per MLB.com). Feltner spent the night at a Denver area hospital, and Black said “overall, he’s fine.”

“What we found out was he has a small skull fracture and he’s concussed … but overall, he’s fine,” Black said. “The feeling’s that it could have been worse, obviously. But he’s going to miss some time. Ryan was communicating with players via text, so he was pretty stable by the time the game ended and guys were getting home, 11 o’clock, midnight. He was texting with our medical staff, his parents, and we texted last night. He was obviously in a concussion state, but he was fairly lucid.”

Frightening moment in Colorado, as Ryan Feltner gets hit with a comebacker on the mound. Feltner exited on his own power. pic.twitter.com/9VbghmNNMe

— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) May 14, 2023

The incident happened during the second inning of the Rockies vs. Phillies game on Saturday. As Castellanos swung, he hit a line drive that hit Feltner on the back right side of his head as he tried to turn away last second. According to the Associated Press, the ball was traveling 92.7 miles per hour. After being on the ground for a few minutes, Feltner walked off the field with the help of trainers and was then transported to a local hospital. He will not need surgery, but Black said that the 26-year-old will miss at least several weeks, if not months of action due to the injury.

“The biggest thing is he has to let the trauma heal and let nature take its course on this one,” Black said. “He suffered a head injury. Time is the best healer. From everything that I’ve been told here this morning, things are looking up.”

Castellanos appeared shaken up when he spoke to reporters. “It happens, and then I felt like I was running to first base because it was my job,” Castellanos to said, per CNN. “Instantly what I thought was, like: ‘Holy s—, I hit him.’ There was a part of me that wanted to go to the mound, but I guess the baseball player takes over and you go to first. As soon as I touched first, I turned around and was just really hoping that what happened didn’t happen.”

Feltner made his MLB debut with the Rockies in 2021. So far this season, Feltner has pitched in eight games and posted a 2-3 record with a 4.37 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 25 walks in 35.1 innings.

0comments