Yankees prospect Dustin Fowler carted off with leg injury in MLB debut
In his first-ever Major League Baseball game, New York Yankees outfielder Dustin Fowler may have suffered a serious injury. Fowler was carted off the field Thursday after running into the right field foul wall while chasing down a ball.
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The injury occurred in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu hit a foul shot down the right field line near the wall. Fowler sprinted into foul territory to make the play, but the ball sailed just out of reach into the stands. Fowler had been running at close to full speed, and had too much momentum to stop himself. His legs smashed right into the padded foul wall in right.
Just a heartbreaking scene for the #Yankees Dustin Fowler, who had to leave the game due to injury in his @MLB debut. pic.twitter.com/dal7DOAukN
— 120 Sports (@120Sports) June 30, 2017
The impact of the collision looked pretty bad, and it was evident Fowler was in a considerable amount of pain. Right after hitting the wall, Fowler attempted to take a step on his right leg, and began limping noticeably. After a few seconds, he tried to put weight on it again and immediately went to the ground in pain.
Fowler was diagnosed with an open rupture of his right patella tendon. He will have surgery Thursday night in Chicago.
Update on Dustin Fowler: open rupture of right patella tendon in his right knee. Sent to Rush University for surgery tonight
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) June 30, 2017
Trainers determined it would require a cart to move Fowler from the field. Teammates surrounded Fowler as he laid on the field. Manager Joe Girardi was extremely concerned about the outfielder.
Joe Girardi’s reaction is simply heartbreaking after Fowler’s leg injury in the first inning pic.twitter.com/xCvzo53C6E
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) June 30, 2017
When it came time to move Fowler, shortstop Didi Gregorius helped team trainers lift and place him on the cart.
Didi helped carry Fowler onto the cart as his leg was immobilized pic.twitter.com/6SkV33Fp4L
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) June 30, 2017
The 22-year-old Fowler had been called up just hours earlier, and was making his major-league debut. Fowler came into the season ranked as the Yankees’ ninth-best prospect, according to Baseball America. He was hitting .293/.329/.542 in 70 games at Triple-A.
Fowler started in right field Thursday and was listed in the sixth spot in the batting order. Five Yankees came to the plate in the top of the first inning. Fowler was removed from the game in the bottom of the inning, before he could make his first plate appearance.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
