Yankees pitcher James Paxton dropped an almost unfathomable fact on the line that hit Masahiro Tanaka in the head.
“That ball came back, I think they said 112 miles per hour,” Paxton said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday.
Than?!
If your reaction was anything other than your wild eyes, check your pulse.
On Saturday, Giancarlo Stanton hit a comebacker who hit Tanaka on the right temple. The ball hung in the air about five seconds after it hit the father of two or two years.
Tanaka remained motionless on the ground for approximately 10 minutes after the incident, which caused Stanton to crouch down and wince, clearly distressed. The Japanese star finally got up and left the field with the help of the staff.
Tanaka was released from the hospital on Saturday night and diagnosed with a mild concussion. Manager Aaron Boone said Tanaka seemed fine when he was at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Tanaka is currently on the league’s concussion protocol and it is unclear when he will be able to return to the mound. Tanaka tweeted that she felt somewhat better on Saturday night.
While the speed of the ball was shocking, it is less surprising when you consider it came off the bat for Stanton, one of the most powerful hitters of all time.
Last season, Stanton hit a ball that traveled at 120.6 mph, the best in the league.
Boone said he was hopeful that Tanaka would recover quickly.
“But I don’t want to speculate too much,” he said. “Every time you go into the concussion protocol, and while everything seems positive right now, you still want to get through these days and make sure that you have no symptoms and are able to do everything from an athletic standpoint without generating any symptoms or nothing. I am hopeful and feel good about where it is, but I need to see how it unfolds now over the next few days. “
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