BOSTON – No one really knew what the road back to the field would look like for Alex Bregman in the immediate aftermath of the scary scene on Sunday in Cincinnati. The Cubs’ star third baseman was struck in the left side of the face by a foul ball and sustained multiple fractures, making his well-being the biggest concern.
On Friday morning at Fenway Park, Bregman’s name was back in the lineup for the Cubs, who slotted the veteran in as the designated hitter in the lineup’s third spot. Given the initial shock of his injury, having Bregman back so soon came not only as a relief, but as a potential boost as Chicago nears a National League Wild Card Series.
“It’s incredible,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said prior to his club’s 4-3 loss to the Red Sox in Game 1 of a split doubleheader.
In four plate appearances, Bregman went without a hit, but put the ball in play three times. While the results were not there, it was an important first step back into the swing of things for a crucial part of the Cubs’ roster.
“I felt like I haven’t played in a few days, but my face was fine,” Bregman said. “I feel like today was kind of, let’s get some at-bats and get back to getting in the swing of things. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t thinking anything about my face, and the only thing I was thinking about was how I normally think when I’m playing the game of baseball. And that was good.”
The Cubs understand there is risk involved with having Bregman return to the lineup less than a week removed from the incident, but the third baseman went through multiple days of workouts and was cleared by the team’s doctors. After Bregman showed no concussion symptoms, passed vision testing and was deemed not to require surgery, Friday was circled as a possible target for his comeback.
Bregman began with tracking pitches against the high-velocity Trajekt machine at Wrigley Field on Tuesday and advanced to hitting on Wednesday. By Thursday, the third baseman was out in the field going through running drills to test how that felt. And as the Cubs celebrated their postseason clinch on Thursday night, Bregman stayed to the side at his locker, protected from the fray by plastic sheeting hanging in the locker room.
Counsell noted that Bregman was “itching to get in” Thursday’s clincher against the Marlins.
“There were a lot of unknowns,” Counsell said. “It was a freak injury. It’s an injury that we don’t deal with very often, that you don’t experience very often, so you’re kind of unaware of the risk and things like that. There are risks. And we’ve talked to Alex about that, but I think we’ve done the best we can to minimize them and just move forward.”
Bregman was waiting on deck at Great American Ball Park on Sunday, when Michael Busch checked his swing and fouled off a pitch from Reds pitcher Luis Mey in the fourth inning. Bregman had little time to react and immediately grabbed at his face and headed down the tunnel before being taken to a local hospital.
A staffer remained in Cincinnati to drive Bregman back to Chicago and the third baseman posted a photo on Instagram of his bruised, bloodied face with his left eye swollen shut. The swelling reduced significantly in the days leading up to the trip to Boston and Bregman planned on wearing a modified helmet to help guard against any setbacks.
In that social media post, Bregman declared, “I’ll be back,” and he delivered faster on that promise than fans might have expected.
“Nobody loves baseball more than him,” said Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, who was teammates with Bregman in Boston last year. “So, I wasn't surprised at all to be honest, but I was a little bit surprised when he told me he was playing today in the first game for a 1 o’clock game. But that's Breggy.”
Counsell said Bregman’s personality and drive to stay on the field have made an impact on the Cubs this season.
“Look, Alex’s best trait is just, the man loves baseball,” Counsell said. “And he’s super competitive. And he’s relentless in his pursuit to be a little bit better. And so, that just rubs off on people. And he talks about it non-stop. I mean, every one of us has gotten late-night texts or observations, so it’s great.
“And it makes you love it, and it makes you want to go to battle with him.”
While Pete Crow-Armstrong has emerged as the NL’s favorite to take home the MVP Award, Bregman has also turned in the type of season that should get down-ballot consideration. Through 154 games, Bregman has 5.1 fWAR with 26 homers, 32 doubles, 89 RBIs and a .799 OPS to go along with Gold Glove-caliber defense. He has really taken off since the All-Star break, posting a .962 OPS.
And with his return to the lineup, Bregman is on the cusp of playing in the postseason for a 10th consecutive season.
“There’s nothing like playoff baseball. You want to do it every single year,” Bregman said. “You never take it for granted. I’ve been very fortunate enough to be a part of some great teams over the last 10 years that have been able to go to the playoffs for 10 straight.”