Jameson Taillon, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, took a line drive to the head during Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and stayed in the game.
"He's doing well today and we're monitoring him," athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk
told ESPN on Wednesday.
The 105 mph, second-inning hit by Hernan Perez struck Taillon in the back of the head, and Tomczyk credited Taillon's cap, the cap's logo, his hair, and his skull with preventing a brain injury.
"It's just scary," teammate Jared Hughes told ESPN. "You immediately start praying."
Taillon said he was surprised that he escaped injury,
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“To be honest, I was waiting for it to hurt when I was down,” Taillon said. “I really felt good the whole way through."
He said he was eager to stand up after being knocked down to let his family and friends who were watching see that he was OK. Tomczyk examined Taillon, asked him questions and helped him to a seated position,
TribLIVE reported. He was throwing warm up pitches two minutes and 45 seconds after the incident.
The pirates went on to with the game 3-2, with Guerra pitching six innings. He allowed three hits and two runs, walked three, and struck out six.
Taillon thanked his fans for their concern on Twitter.
Tomczyk told ESPN that new protective headgear introduced as an MLB/MLBPA prototype in February wouldn't have protected the place where Taillon was hit. None of the pitchers who have received the cap/helmet hybrids have worn them in a game.
"It provides protection for the temple on the side you pitch from, so it's a pretty smart thing, in my opinion," Hughes said. "I'm going to give it a fair, fair shot, and if I can get used to it, I'll wear it [in games] and maybe other guys will follow."
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