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New York Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar will begin his recovery from the facial fractures he suffered when hit by a pitch on Monday night, and Atlanta Braves pitcher Jacob Webb, the guy who threw the ball, is trying to find his way back from the incident too.
In the top of the seventh inning of Monday’s game, Webb threw the 95 mph fastball that hit Pillar, and Webb said it’s tough moving forward.
“This is the first time I’ve had an incident like this … it’s tough. You never want to hurt a fellow competitor,” he told reporters Tuesday, per USA Today.
Webb is in his third season with the Braves, and Pillar is only the second batter the 27-year-old has hit in 57 innings in the league, USA Today reports. Webb said he’s more worried about Pillar than anything.
“I got some news that he’s doing all right and everything came back negative with CT scans and all that stuff,” he said. “So glad he’s doing all right and hoping for a speedy recovery.”
Webb said he texted Pillar after the game and got a text back reminding him everything is going to be all right and “stuff happens.”
USA Today reports Pillar will meet with a facial specialist in Atlanta to determine the next steps in his recovery.
As for Webb, he’s back in the Braves bullpen trying to get the gruesome images out of his head and focus on his next appearance on the mound.
“Most of my teammates and coaches have been rallying around me … making sure I’m OK mentally,” he said. “Everyone has been uplifting about it. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Pitchers today are throwing harder than ever, with less idea of where it’s going than ever. Strikeouts are up, but so are hit batters. Hit batters are up 30% since 2011! Plus they are rushing young pictures to the majors to fast before they have honed their craft (or even know what their craft is). The next time you watch a game notice how pitchers have a really hard time pitching to the inside corner. Few can do it. If they go in they typically miss badly. It’s become a lost skill for some reason. I happen to think this happened because pitchers are coached to focus on velocity WAYYYY more than locating pitches. I don’t know the stats on this but I can guarantee you pitch counts have skyrocketed in the last 10 years as well. So guys are striking out a lot of hitters but rarely getting past the sixth inning.