Guys, I haven't watched the game at all. I just saw this thread and I made some jokes in another thread.
Nothing is more important than Clement's well-being. I hope to goodness that he is ok and I am actually sorry I made jokes about Boston tonight at all.
God help him and I hope he makes it through healthy and able. tulsa
Nothing is more important than Clement's well-being. I hope to goodness that he is ok and I am actually sorry I made jokes about Boston tonight at all.
God help him and I hope he makes it through healthy and able. tulsa
I said to my wife that it is amazing we haven't seen a major leaguer killed in in incident like this, or hit in the head by a pitch. Last guy was Ray Chapman, 1920 I believe.
I really thought it could have killed him, the ball landed in Left field after it hit his head, that's how hard it was hit.
I really thought it could have killed him, the ball landed in Left field after it hit his head, that's how hard it was hit.
Sox get a scare as line drive hits Clement
Pitcher will be reevaluated today
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | July 27, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement appeared to have escaped serious injury after being struck in the head by a line drive during the Sox' 10-9 win over the Devil Rays last night at Tropicana Field and taken to a nearby hospital.
''I have spoken with Matt and his doctors in Florida," Sox medical director Thomas Gill said in a statement read by team media coordinator Peter Chase. ''Matt himself never lost consciousness and is in good spirits. The results of his CAT scan were negative. He appears to be doing well but will stay in the hospital overnight for precautionary purposes and will be reevaluated in the morning."
Clement, carted off the field on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to nearby Bayfront Medical Center, was ''alert, aware, and responsive," according to his agent, Barry Axelrod, who spoke twice on the phone with Sox general manager Theo Epstein in Boston in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
''Theo said he seemed aware, knew where he was, knew what had happened to him," said Axelrod, who is based in San Diego and was watching on television when the play occurred.
Clement spoke to his wife, Heather, who was back in Boston watching on television with their 4-year-old son, Mattix, according to Axelrod.
''He was kind of joking with her," Axelrod said. ''She said, 'All your runs scored.' He said, 'That figures.' He was worried about that.
''Mattix was sitting there watching on TV and saying, 'Daddy, c'mon. Daddy, c'mon.' Heather said it was all she could do to hold it together."
Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who returned to the clubhouse during the 11-minute stoppage in play to call Clement's wife and offer some words of reassurance, said he planned to go to the hospital as soon as he'd showered and dressed.
''It looks like he's OK," he said. ''The tests all came back OK. They're keeping him overnight, but hopefully everything will be OK and he'll go home with us."
The Sox are scheduled to return to Boston tonight after the game.
Clement was struck by a line drive hit by Devil Rays left fielder Carl Crawford in what appeared to be the area behind the right ear with one out in the third inning. The ball struck Clement with such force that it caromed into short left field, where it was retrieved by Manny Ramirez. Tampa Bay's Alex Gonzalez, who was on third base, scored on the play.
Clement covered his ear with both hands and lay motionless on his left side while medical personnel from both teams rushed to his aid, and the crowd fell silent.
Chang-Ho Lee, the Red Sox assistant trainer, was the first to attend to Clement. Head trainer Jim Rowe, who was in the clubhouse training room attending to outfielder Trot Nixon, who had left the game in the top of the third with a strained oblique muscle in his left side, quickly joined Lee, as did Devil Rays orthopedic physician Koco Eaton and team trainer Ken Crenshaw.
Emergency medical technicians were summoned, and Clement was gently turned onto his back and lifted onto the stretcher. Clement's eyes were open and he was conscious as he left the field, grasping the hand of Kevin Millar when the Sox first baseman extended it to him.
Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller, one of Clement's closest friends on the team and a former teammate on the Chicago Cubs, dropped to one knee on the side of the mound and appeared to be praying.
''Theo thought he was struck behind the ear as opposed to the temple," Axelrod said. ''Matt evidently was almost in a kind of shock. That's why he was lying motionless. I saw him move his feet by himself and his hands by himself.
''They're going to have to run a number of tests, a CAT scan and other tests to make sure he did not have a concussion or even a skull fracture, but Theo said it looked like for what had happened, it might be the best possible result. There were no immediate indications of big-time damage."
Clement was accompanied to the hospital by Eaton and Rowe, and Gill was monitoring the situation from Boston.
Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said that after the game, physical therapist Chris Correnti called Clement and several players spoke with him, including the Sox captain.
''It's fortunate that he didn't lose consciousness and stuff," said Varitek, who took Clement's hand before he was wheeled off the field. ''We just talked to him a few minutes ago. He sounds pretty good. That's encouraging."
According to neurosurgeons and other specialists in sports injuries, the negative results of the CAT scan mean it's unlikely Clement suffered bleeding, bruising, or fractures to the brain, but it doesn't rule out that he suffered a serious concussion.
''He should not be brought back to the field until all post-concussion symptoms are cleared," said Dr. Robert C. Cantu, a neurosurgeon at Emerson Hospital in Concord and co-director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. ''Having seen what he took [last night], it's pretty hard to imagine that he doesn't have some of the effects."
Effects could include recurring headaches, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, vertigo, vision problems, balance, and a loss of recent memory, the specialists said. But Cantu said the results of the CAT scan likely mean Clement will not suffer long-term effects.
Clement, who turns 31 Aug. 12, came into the game as the team leader in wins with a 10-3 record and a 4.30 ERA. He was well on his way to an 11th win, the Sox having given him a 5-0 lead with two runs in the first and three in the third.
But in the bottom of the third, after striking out Pete LaForest, Clement gave up a double to Alex Gonzalez and Joey Gathright beat out an infield hit to first, Gathright reaching the bag just before Clement received a throw from Millar.
Crawford, an All-Star for the Devil Rays in 2004, hit Clement's next pitch directly back at the pitcher.
After the game resumed, the Devil Rays tied the score in the same inning against reliever Chad Bradford.
The incident brought back memories of a similar incident involving another Red Sox pitcher, Bryce Florie, who on Sept. 8, 2000 in Fenway Park was struck in the right eye and cheekbone by a line drive hit by Ryan Thompson of the New York Yankees and sustained a severe eye injury. Florie underwent multiple surgeries on his eye and to repair fractures of facial bones, but never regained full vision in his eye and did not pitch in the major leagues after 2001. He was out of baseball in 2003 and attempted a comeback with the Florida Marlins in 2004, but was cut in spring training after a bizarre incident in which he sustained facial cuts in what was described as a sleepwalking accident.
In 1975, former Red Sox pitcher Dick Pole, now the Cubs' bench coach, was struck in almost the same place as Florie by a line drive by Tony Muser of the Chicago White Sox and lost 90 percent of the vision in his eye.
Boston Globe
Pitcher will be reevaluated today
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | July 27, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement appeared to have escaped serious injury after being struck in the head by a line drive during the Sox' 10-9 win over the Devil Rays last night at Tropicana Field and taken to a nearby hospital.
''I have spoken with Matt and his doctors in Florida," Sox medical director Thomas Gill said in a statement read by team media coordinator Peter Chase. ''Matt himself never lost consciousness and is in good spirits. The results of his CAT scan were negative. He appears to be doing well but will stay in the hospital overnight for precautionary purposes and will be reevaluated in the morning."
Clement, carted off the field on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to nearby Bayfront Medical Center, was ''alert, aware, and responsive," according to his agent, Barry Axelrod, who spoke twice on the phone with Sox general manager Theo Epstein in Boston in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
''Theo said he seemed aware, knew where he was, knew what had happened to him," said Axelrod, who is based in San Diego and was watching on television when the play occurred.
Clement spoke to his wife, Heather, who was back in Boston watching on television with their 4-year-old son, Mattix, according to Axelrod.
''He was kind of joking with her," Axelrod said. ''She said, 'All your runs scored.' He said, 'That figures.' He was worried about that.
''Mattix was sitting there watching on TV and saying, 'Daddy, c'mon. Daddy, c'mon.' Heather said it was all she could do to hold it together."
Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who returned to the clubhouse during the 11-minute stoppage in play to call Clement's wife and offer some words of reassurance, said he planned to go to the hospital as soon as he'd showered and dressed.
''It looks like he's OK," he said. ''The tests all came back OK. They're keeping him overnight, but hopefully everything will be OK and he'll go home with us."
The Sox are scheduled to return to Boston tonight after the game.
Clement was struck by a line drive hit by Devil Rays left fielder Carl Crawford in what appeared to be the area behind the right ear with one out in the third inning. The ball struck Clement with such force that it caromed into short left field, where it was retrieved by Manny Ramirez. Tampa Bay's Alex Gonzalez, who was on third base, scored on the play.
Clement covered his ear with both hands and lay motionless on his left side while medical personnel from both teams rushed to his aid, and the crowd fell silent.
Chang-Ho Lee, the Red Sox assistant trainer, was the first to attend to Clement. Head trainer Jim Rowe, who was in the clubhouse training room attending to outfielder Trot Nixon, who had left the game in the top of the third with a strained oblique muscle in his left side, quickly joined Lee, as did Devil Rays orthopedic physician Koco Eaton and team trainer Ken Crenshaw.
Emergency medical technicians were summoned, and Clement was gently turned onto his back and lifted onto the stretcher. Clement's eyes were open and he was conscious as he left the field, grasping the hand of Kevin Millar when the Sox first baseman extended it to him.
Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller, one of Clement's closest friends on the team and a former teammate on the Chicago Cubs, dropped to one knee on the side of the mound and appeared to be praying.
''Theo thought he was struck behind the ear as opposed to the temple," Axelrod said. ''Matt evidently was almost in a kind of shock. That's why he was lying motionless. I saw him move his feet by himself and his hands by himself.
''They're going to have to run a number of tests, a CAT scan and other tests to make sure he did not have a concussion or even a skull fracture, but Theo said it looked like for what had happened, it might be the best possible result. There were no immediate indications of big-time damage."
Clement was accompanied to the hospital by Eaton and Rowe, and Gill was monitoring the situation from Boston.
Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said that after the game, physical therapist Chris Correnti called Clement and several players spoke with him, including the Sox captain.
''It's fortunate that he didn't lose consciousness and stuff," said Varitek, who took Clement's hand before he was wheeled off the field. ''We just talked to him a few minutes ago. He sounds pretty good. That's encouraging."
According to neurosurgeons and other specialists in sports injuries, the negative results of the CAT scan mean it's unlikely Clement suffered bleeding, bruising, or fractures to the brain, but it doesn't rule out that he suffered a serious concussion.
''He should not be brought back to the field until all post-concussion symptoms are cleared," said Dr. Robert C. Cantu, a neurosurgeon at Emerson Hospital in Concord and co-director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. ''Having seen what he took [last night], it's pretty hard to imagine that he doesn't have some of the effects."
Effects could include recurring headaches, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, vertigo, vision problems, balance, and a loss of recent memory, the specialists said. But Cantu said the results of the CAT scan likely mean Clement will not suffer long-term effects.
Clement, who turns 31 Aug. 12, came into the game as the team leader in wins with a 10-3 record and a 4.30 ERA. He was well on his way to an 11th win, the Sox having given him a 5-0 lead with two runs in the first and three in the third.
But in the bottom of the third, after striking out Pete LaForest, Clement gave up a double to Alex Gonzalez and Joey Gathright beat out an infield hit to first, Gathright reaching the bag just before Clement received a throw from Millar.
Crawford, an All-Star for the Devil Rays in 2004, hit Clement's next pitch directly back at the pitcher.
After the game resumed, the Devil Rays tied the score in the same inning against reliever Chad Bradford.
The incident brought back memories of a similar incident involving another Red Sox pitcher, Bryce Florie, who on Sept. 8, 2000 in Fenway Park was struck in the right eye and cheekbone by a line drive hit by Ryan Thompson of the New York Yankees and sustained a severe eye injury. Florie underwent multiple surgeries on his eye and to repair fractures of facial bones, but never regained full vision in his eye and did not pitch in the major leagues after 2001. He was out of baseball in 2003 and attempted a comeback with the Florida Marlins in 2004, but was cut in spring training after a bizarre incident in which he sustained facial cuts in what was described as a sleepwalking accident.
In 1975, former Red Sox pitcher Dick Pole, now the Cubs' bench coach, was struck in almost the same place as Florie by a line drive by Tony Muser of the Chicago White Sox and lost 90 percent of the vision in his eye.
Boston Globe
ST. PETERSBURG -- Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement, who was struck in the head by a line drive in Tuesday's game against the Devil Rays, was released Wednesday from Bayfront Medical Center and was cleared to rejoin the club for the flight home to Boston.
Clement was struck behind his right ear by a line drive off the bat of Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford with one out in the bottom of the third in the Red Sox-Devil Rays game at Tropicana Field.
The drive glanced off Clement's ear and ricocheted into left field. He was down for 11 minutes before leaving the field on a stretcher and being taken to the hospital. A CAT scan Tuesday night was negative.
Red Sox medical director Dr. Thomas Gill updated Clement's condition in a statement released Wednesday afternoon:
"Matt stayed in the hospital overnight and underwent further tests and observation this morning. The results of a second CAT scan taken this morning were also negative, and Matt was released from the hospital this afternoon. Matt will accompany the team back to Boston tonight and be evaluated by our medical staff upon his return."
Manager Terry Francona, joined by pitching coach Dave Wallace and bench coach Brad Mills, visited Clement at the hospital following the game.
"He was in really good spirits and he looked a little groggy, but he was doing OK," Francona said before Wednesday afternoon's game. "He had a little cut on his ear, but I don't think it was that swollen. It was amazing, his ear was red. I was shocked."
Clement, who never lost consciousness, was not diagnosed with a concussion, Francona said.
"I've never been hit in the head like that so I can't speak about it with a lot of knowledge; few people can," Francona said. "His son saw it on TV, so put yourself in his shoes. When your family's not here, that's awful."
The Red Sox are idle Thursday, and Francona said the off-day could not have come at a better time.
"We have the ability to finagle with our rotation because of the two off days," he said.
Despite the Red Sox' 10-9 win in 10 innings Tuesday, Francona and most players were less interested in discussing the victory than with Clement's health following the game.
Outfielder Adam Stern, who scored the tying run in the ninth inning, said he saw a similar incident while he was at the University of Nebraska. A teammate was hit and suffered a broken jaw.
"It's just really scary. It's just kind of a bad situation. You never really know what goes on, what happens afterwards," Stern said. "Winning a game is great, but after what happened last night, you just want to make sure your teammate is OK."
Outfielder Trot Nixon, who himself will be out indefinitely after straining an oblique in his left side Tuesday, said the team will be able to focus Wednesday knowing Clement is healthy.
"Now that we know he's doing well, we can just go out and play," he said. "When someone gets hurt like that, you know, morale's not going to drop. I'm still going to be yelling at people. The only thing that hurts me is that I can't go out there and compete."
Crawford said Wednesday that he could clearly see Clement get hit and had initially thought it was to the face.
"I've never seen anything like that; I hope I don't see it again," he said.
Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said he had seen quite a few pitchers get hit over the years.
"It's not fun, but what it tells you is how close the mound is and how defenseless the pitcher is," he said.
Boston right-hander Manny Delcarmen made his Major League debut in the eighth inning Tuesday, and found the injury to Clement to be quite the introduction to the big leagues.
"I was sitting in the bullpen and Curt [Schilling], he sees me sitting here ... and then Clement got hit, and I was kind of like, 'Wow.' I think that's the scariest thing in baseball right now. Curt's just like, 'Keep doing what you're doing, do your breathing, and you'll be fine.'"
ESPN's SportsCenter led its show with Crawford's hit, but Francona said he refused to watch any highlights. "I saw it today and I didn't want to watch it," he said. "That doesn't do anything for me. I turned away -- I don't want to see that."
MLB.com
Clement was struck behind his right ear by a line drive off the bat of Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford with one out in the bottom of the third in the Red Sox-Devil Rays game at Tropicana Field.
The drive glanced off Clement's ear and ricocheted into left field. He was down for 11 minutes before leaving the field on a stretcher and being taken to the hospital. A CAT scan Tuesday night was negative.
Red Sox medical director Dr. Thomas Gill updated Clement's condition in a statement released Wednesday afternoon:
"Matt stayed in the hospital overnight and underwent further tests and observation this morning. The results of a second CAT scan taken this morning were also negative, and Matt was released from the hospital this afternoon. Matt will accompany the team back to Boston tonight and be evaluated by our medical staff upon his return."
Manager Terry Francona, joined by pitching coach Dave Wallace and bench coach Brad Mills, visited Clement at the hospital following the game.
"He was in really good spirits and he looked a little groggy, but he was doing OK," Francona said before Wednesday afternoon's game. "He had a little cut on his ear, but I don't think it was that swollen. It was amazing, his ear was red. I was shocked."
Clement, who never lost consciousness, was not diagnosed with a concussion, Francona said.
"I've never been hit in the head like that so I can't speak about it with a lot of knowledge; few people can," Francona said. "His son saw it on TV, so put yourself in his shoes. When your family's not here, that's awful."
The Red Sox are idle Thursday, and Francona said the off-day could not have come at a better time.
"We have the ability to finagle with our rotation because of the two off days," he said.
Despite the Red Sox' 10-9 win in 10 innings Tuesday, Francona and most players were less interested in discussing the victory than with Clement's health following the game.
Outfielder Adam Stern, who scored the tying run in the ninth inning, said he saw a similar incident while he was at the University of Nebraska. A teammate was hit and suffered a broken jaw.
"It's just really scary. It's just kind of a bad situation. You never really know what goes on, what happens afterwards," Stern said. "Winning a game is great, but after what happened last night, you just want to make sure your teammate is OK."
Outfielder Trot Nixon, who himself will be out indefinitely after straining an oblique in his left side Tuesday, said the team will be able to focus Wednesday knowing Clement is healthy.
"Now that we know he's doing well, we can just go out and play," he said. "When someone gets hurt like that, you know, morale's not going to drop. I'm still going to be yelling at people. The only thing that hurts me is that I can't go out there and compete."
Crawford said Wednesday that he could clearly see Clement get hit and had initially thought it was to the face.
"I've never seen anything like that; I hope I don't see it again," he said.
Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said he had seen quite a few pitchers get hit over the years.
"It's not fun, but what it tells you is how close the mound is and how defenseless the pitcher is," he said.
Boston right-hander Manny Delcarmen made his Major League debut in the eighth inning Tuesday, and found the injury to Clement to be quite the introduction to the big leagues.
"I was sitting in the bullpen and Curt [Schilling], he sees me sitting here ... and then Clement got hit, and I was kind of like, 'Wow.' I think that's the scariest thing in baseball right now. Curt's just like, 'Keep doing what you're doing, do your breathing, and you'll be fine.'"
ESPN's SportsCenter led its show with Crawford's hit, but Francona said he refused to watch any highlights. "I saw it today and I didn't want to watch it," he said. "That doesn't do anything for me. I turned away -- I don't want to see that."
MLB.com
