Taylor Ward opens up about recovery from 92 mph sinker to face

[jsnpritchett]

Good interview from Blum.  Sounds like the injury was more serious than originally talked about, but Ward seems to have a good attitude about what happened and his road to recovery.

Excerpts from the article for those who don't have access to The Athletic:

"Though Ward did not suffer a concussion, and his eyesight was not impacted, the sinker to his face left him with three fractures: one to his orbital floor directly below his eye, one by his temple, and another by his jaw.

On Aug. 5, Ward underwent surgery. Doctors inserted three different plates. He said that the third was necessary because the doctor found that his skull was loose.

Coming out of the operation, Ward could not eat solid foods, forced to consume only liquids and broth. Nor could he breathe out of his nose because of four-inch splints in each nostril. He said he’s become “a mouth breather” and a heavy snorer, acknowledging he’s probably become a nuisance to his wife.

It’s been a little more than a month since surgery. Ward still hasn’t been able to drink through a straw."

...

"In one way, Ward will never be the same. The sinker to his face left him with a broken nose, resulting in what he called a “banana shape” curve. But doctors couldn’t reconstruct his nose exactly as it was before. So the slight curve remains on his bridge. That imperfection has become a point of pride.

“I think it’s kind of good for me to have that too,” Ward said. “Not that I want to be reminded of what happened. But I think it is kind of a cool story. These things happen, and it’s OK with me.”

That mindset has permeated Ward’s thinking throughout this whole ordeal. He said he has come to terms with the injury. He knows there will be questions about his ability to get back in the box. One of his greatest gifts as a hitter is his comfort at the plate and his ability to recognize pitches — things that could be impacted by emotional scars left by taking a pitch to the face. But he intends to come back as the same hitter he was before the injury.

“(I’ll) try to basically get as comfortable as I can and forget what happened,” said Ward, who hopes that adding a new C-flap to his batting helmet will help allay any lingering fears. “Put that in the back of your mind and let other thoughts take control.”

 

[T.G.]

Thanks for sharing.  Good stuff.

[Angel Oracle]

I am seeing more hitters wearing the flap on their helmet.   Something like it actually goes back to O’s OF Gary Roenicke around 1979, after he had been beaned.

Good luck to Taylor Ward, he has the right attitude.

[DCAngelsFan]

That was awful, it reminded me of Conigliaro and I wondered if he'd make it back - thankfully, seems his eyesight wasn't affected.   

He has a good attitude, it seems, I hope he comes back to what he was.

If there was a last straw that broke the back of our season, this might've been it

Thanks for sharing

 

[Taylor]

Excellent journalism. Thanks for sharing. 

 

[TroutField]

Wow that’s horrific, I guess we all heard “his eye sight should be unaffected” and turned the page because the angels were in complete melt down mode.
 

 

Another one of those reminders how meaningless baseball is at the end of the day and it’s all just a game. Hoping for a full and complete recovery aside from the misshapen nose, not being able to breathe out of your nose and not being able to use a straw sounds horrible, the little things we take for granted. 

 

I hate to say it but this excerpt sounds just like the Angels season since that series in Toronto. Essentially, punched in the face so hard it’s broken with not much of a timetable to get better. 

Though Ward did not suffer a concussion, and his eyesight was not impacted, the sinker to his face left him with three fractures: one to his orbital floor directly below his eye, one by his temple, and another by his jaw.

On Aug. 5, Ward underwent surgery. Doctors inserted three different plates. He said that the third was necessary because the doctor found that his skull was loose.

Coming out of the operation, Ward could not eat solid foods, forced to consume only liquids and broth. Nor could he breathe out of his nose because of four-inch splints in each nostril. He said he’s become “a mouth breather” and a heavy snorer, acknowledging he’s probably become a nuisance to his wife.

[Lazorko Saves]

Things I learned from this article:

1. Ward-o has a wife.  When did this happen?  Was all that Taylor Swift talk just about making Taylor+Taylor jokes?

2. There is a medical condition that doctors will describe as "skull was loose".

[Make Angels Great Again]

I'm reminded of the writeup by Matt Shoemaker when he took one to the dome.

105 mph to the Head (theplayerstribune.com)

[T.G.]

The incident with Ward is just one of many crazy things that have been a part of this season.  It's been an insane year.

[Angelsjunky]

Hopefully he doesn't have the baseball version of the yips. My "little league career" (ha) was ruined by a ball to the nose that sent me to the emergency room, and I came back afraid of the ball and eventually quit...but I wasn't a pro athlete with the incentive of millions of dollars (plus my dad was pretty soft on me, being a hippy Buddhist type).

On the other hand, I think there's a chance he could come back better than ever. I mean, maybe.

[Taylor]

5 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Hopefully he doesn't have the baseball version of the yips. My "little league career" (ha) was ruined by a ball to the nose that sent me to the emergency room, and I came back afraid of the ball and eventually quit...but I wasn't a pro athlete with the incentive of millions of dollars (plus my dad was pretty soft on me, being a hippy Buddhist type).

On the other hand, I think there's a chance he could come back better than ever. I mean, maybe.

Good thing your computer didn't electrocute you or else we'd all be less knowledgeable about baseball.

[cals]

3 hours ago, Taylor said:

Excellent journalism. Thanks for sharing. 

 

Yes, there was a sensitivity to the story most sports stories lack.  Well done.

[Angelsjunky]

16 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Good thing your computer didn't electrocute you or else we'd all be less knowledgeable about baseball.

Me:

[Taylor]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Me:

If you caught the "calculating statistics and understanding sabermetrics" yips we would never have benefitted from your vast knowledge of the game.

[Angelsjunky]

29 minutes ago, Taylor said:

If you caught the "calculating statistics and understanding sabermetrics" yips we would never have benefitted from your vast knowledge of the game.

Oh shit, I feel dumb now. 

[Angelsfan1984]

5 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Oh shit, I feel dumb now. 

[Mark68]

This sounds a lot more scary than it looked...and it looked pretty damn scary. 

I really think this was the turning point of the season. It's been all downhill from there. I think Ward was really the glue that held this team together. 

 

Get well, Taylor. I hope you do return to the player that you were before the injury. 

But I just hope you return to a "normal" life and can breathe through your nose again. 

[tomsred]

I agree, that was a very scary moment, and a real inflection point in the season.  Best of luck Taylor in your recovery!  I hope you can do all the things you love in the future, including baseball if you so choose.  

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Interesting due to the Title.

A Sinker "Sinks".

When your front side flies open to home plate, your arm slot drops and you end up pushing it to home plate the ball doesn't do what you want it to do and it rides up and in to a righty from a righthanded pitcher.

In this example the ball stays up and in. And shows what a minute adjustment makes the ball do. It also shows Manoah's mechanical issues this season.

I'm glad he has his vision, can chew, and is breathing. Baseball isn't relevant.