It could have blown up my eye socket," Orioles righthander Mike
Mussina said of the line drive off the bat of Indians catcher
Sandy Alomar that struck him just above the right eye on May 14.
"It could have hit me in the temple. I could be dead."
Standing in front of his locker on Sunday with a broken nose and
about 20 stitches above a purple and swollen-shut right eye,
Mussina relived the ugly moment when he was struck and actually
used the word lucky. He believes he is fortunate because he
could have been hurt much worse. That sentiment has been echoed
by many of his confreres recently, since a barrage of batted
balls has pelted pitchers in the opening weeks of this season.
On the Orioles alone, righthander Doug Drabek was struck flush
in the chest in a game on May 8 against the Devil Rays, and
reliever Norm Charlton had his nose broken when he was hit
between the eyes on April 29 against the White Sox. "It's as if
pitchers are human targets out there," Charlton says.
Elsewhere, Yankees lefthander Andy Pettitte, who was hit in the
face by a batted ball last season, has already been plunked
twice this season—on his right knee and right leg. Through
Sunday he had given up 18 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings since his
latest blow. Yankees righthander Hideki Irabu was nailed in the
lower back on April 19 and had to leave the game an inning
later. The same day Cubs righthander Jeremi Gonzalez was knocked
to the ground by a ball in a game against the Dodgers. Rockies
righthander Darryl Kile left a May 5 start when he was struck in
the right knee. On May 2 the Marlins' Eric Ludwick tried to
block a batted ball and fractured his throwing arm; he's
expected to be out for three months. Later that evening the
Angels' Chuck Finley was also struck on the throwing arm and had
his next start delayed. "They teach guys to hit up the middle,"
Finley says. "What's up the middle? The pitcher. I'm surprised
there aren't more pitchers hurt."
The consensus in baseball is that most pitchers are struck by a
ball that was pitched outside against a hitter who has shortened
his swing in an attempt to drive the ball back where it was
pitched. Literally. Baltimore manager Ray Miller believes that
the distance from home plate to the mound is too short in this
age of bigger and stronger hitters whose batted balls travel as
fast as 110 mph. "When a ball is hit, the pitcher is standing 52
feet away, leaning forward on one foot with his head sticking
out," Miller says. "It's scary. If they ever put aluminum bats
in major league hitters' hands, they'll be carrying pitchers out
in caskets."
Miller also says that many pitchers try to get so much stuff on
the ball that it takes them out of good fielding position, but
that line of thinking doesn't wash in the case of Mussina, who's
a two-time Gold Glove winner. "We're the ones who should be
wearing the helmets because most times it doesn't matter how
good a fielder you are; you have no chance," Charlton says. "You
just can't think about getting hit. If you're afraid, you can't
pitch."
When a pitcher like Mussina is struck in the head it brings back
memories of the Indians' Herb Score, who was struck on the right
eye by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees' Gil McDougald on
May 7, 1957. Score, the American League Rookie of the Year in
'55 and a 20-game winner in '56, recovered from his injuries and
attempted several comebacks, but he won only 17 more games over
the next five seasons and retired. Nobody in the Orioles
clubhouse anticipates a similar fate for Mussina, who at first
thought he could avoid going on the disabled list but was placed
on the 15-day DL on Monday. "He's a tough kid, and I don't
expect this to affect his pitching," Baltimore third base coach
Sam Perlozzo says, "but he may think about defending himself
initially until he gets a game or two under his belt."
Mussina's prompt and effective return could make or break the
Orioles' floundering season because, more than any other
Baltimore player, he appears to be the key to the Orioles'
success. Baltimore got off to a 10-2 start, but then Mussina
went on the disabled list with a wart on his right index finger,
and the Orioles lost 10 of 15 games in his absence. They went
5-4 after Mussina returned and were winning 4-3 the night he got
hit. His replacement, Arthur Rhodes, gave up a two-run homer to
the first batter he faced, and the O's lost 5-4. They then lost
their next three and at week's end were 10 1/2 games out of first
place.
On Sunday, Mussina was content to carefully toss a ball in the
outfield at Camden Yards. "I understand how dangerous it can be
on the mound, but this is my job," Mussina said. "Fortunately, I
have a hard head."
Issue date: May 25, 1998
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