Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal went beyond a text message after his 99 mph fastball fractured the face of Cleveland Guardians player David Fry.
Hours after the game at Cleveland’s Progressive Field on Tuesday, September 23, Skubal, 28, accepted an offer from Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to ride with him to the hospital and check on Fry, 29, in person.
“That was pretty cool,” Skubal said of Vogt’s invitation. “I think that speaks volumes about who they are over there and the guys that they got.”
At the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, where Fry had been transferred after initially being treated at Lutheran Medical Center, Skubal found Fry alert and even joking about the frightening accident.
According to Vogt, Fry mentioned that he “should have used the bat instead of his face” as teammates gathered around his hospital bed.
“We left feeling like he’s himself,” Vogt said Wednesday, September 26. “He’s injured. He’s hurting. He’s in a ton of pain. But as far as life goes, he’s gonna be OK.”
The Guardians confirmed Fry suffered a broken nose and multiple left-sided facial fractures. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks but will not require surgery. Fry’s wife Rebekah, who is pregnant, traveled to Cleveland on Wednesday to be with him.
Skubal admitted he hasn’t watched the replay and doesn’t plan to.
“I got to see it live, and I don’t want to keep watching that,” he said.
By Wednesday morning, Skubal’s phone buzzed with a message from Fry thanking him for the late-night visit.
“When stuff like that happens, that’s real-life stuff,” Skubal said. “Not baseball game stuff.”
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner had been dominant until the incident but unraveled after Fry’s exit, issuing a wild pitch, committing an error, and being called for a balk as Cleveland seized control.
Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said the clubhouse was shaken watching Fry go down.
“Definitely really scary,” Kwan, 28, said.For David to even try something like that [bunt], that’s just who he is. Selfless kind of guy … Thankfully he had some humor when he came up, but you don’t want to see a guy that’s been with you pretty much the whole year.”
The Guardians went on to win Tuesday night’s game 5–2, pulling into a tie with Detroit atop the AL Central standings.
Cleveland defeated the Tigers again on Wednesday, 5-1, to take sole possession of first place in the American League Central division. They wrap up their pivotal series on Thursday, September 25th.
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