New York Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton talks about “scary” Masahiro Tanaka incident

New York Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton
Mar 12, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) breaks his bat while he swings during the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton had to endure an ugly moment last Saturday, when one line drive off his bat hit Masahiro Tanaka in the head. The Japanese hurler stayed a couple of minutes down but then was able to walk away to get treatment.

Almost immediately after the unfortunate incident, Stanton was seen wincing in fear, thinking that he might have seriously hurt his teammate and friend unintentionally. After all, Stanton is known around the league for posting the highest average exit velocity numbers, and Saturday’s drive was clocked around 112 miles per hour.

Thankfully, Tanaka was diagnosed with only a mild concussion, and he rode a stationary bike for 15-20 minutes on Monday, per New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The Yankees’ pitcher is trending in the right direction

“All signs continue to be encouraging with Masa,” Boone told reporters. The pitcher was taken to the hospital after the injury, but was released later that night and has been at Yankee Stadium the last two days.

Stanton, clearly concerned about Tanaka’s health, seems to be in better spirits. “As long as he’s OK,” Stanton said to NJ.com, “I’m OK.”

“That was a terrible moment,” Stanton said. “For me, terrible, initially of course. You never want to see your teammate on the ground, especially by the hand of yourself.”

“That’s a scary thing, something that could have been a lot worse. I hope he’s OK and hopefully he gets past that quick.”

The Yankees slugger said that as his line drive soared toward Tanaka, his world moved in “slow-mo.”

“You want that ball to keep veering off and it didn’t,” he said.

Of course, Stanton knows a thing or two about getting hit in the head by a baseball. In 2014, a Mike Fiers fastball broke his jaw.

“At the end of the day,” Stanton said, “glad that (Tanaka) was awake and functioning and responsive right off the bat and throughout the evening, and the next day and today.”