Detroit Tigers third baseman and six-time All-Star Miguel Cabrera took a baseball to the face during Monday’s spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The ball bounced hard off the infield dirt before smashing Cabrera hard under the right eye.
Miguel quickly held his hand up to his eye and as he pulled it away blood could be seen covering his right hand. Cabrera was quickly tended to by coaches and a trainer before he made his way off the field as blood poured down onto his cheek and jersey.
Team officials took Cabrera to the hospital for precautionary X-rays.
The hard hit came off the bat of Philadelphia’s Hunter Pence and appears to have taken a bad bounce as it hit the ground.
Teammates told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney that the cut to his face was likely caused by his sunglasses. If you watch the video you will notice that the baseball appears to bounce off the bright-orange lens of Cabrera’s sunglasses.
The third baseman was able to walk off the field under his own weight.
The loss of Cabrera for any extended period of time would deal a blow to the Tigers. Over the last nine seasons he has batted .317 for the Tigers and he led the majors last year with a .344 average alongside 30 home runs and 105 RBIs.
Cabrera was making the transition to third base after the Detroit Tigers acquired Prince Fielder to fill in at 1st base.
Here’s the video:
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Are you surprised that Miguel Cabrera walked off the field under his own weight after taking a hard hit baseball to the face?
