Two days after Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts named Bobby Miller among the early standouts in Spring Training this year, he was rushing onto the field at Camelback Ranch after watching his young pitcher take a 106 mph line drive to the forehead.
Miller remained on the ground for a few moments before slowly rising to his feet and walking to the clubhouse alongside Dodgers trainer Thomas Albert. Roberts announced after the game that Miller had entered concussion protocol but the team was hopeful of a speedy recovery and didn’t believe he suffered any sort of fracture.
More encouraging developments followed as Miller shared on Saturday he was “feeling better” and improving with each passing day.
“Just a headache. Nothing too bad. Nothing scary, nothing that I’m worried about,” Miller said of his symptoms. “Right now it’s just kind of getting rid of a headache and little bit of drowsiness. I just feel a little tired.”
Max Muncy, who was among the players that huddled around Miller as he was being tended to, shared that the 25-year-old quickly made a joke about the curveball being sent right back in his direction.
“Adrenaline really kicks in right there. Fell over, I didn’t really know what I was about to feel,” explained Miller of the immediate aftermath.
“A couple seconds in, you don’t feel it right away. But it didn’t knock me out or anything. I didn’t lose any vision. I’m just glad it didn’t get me in the temple or back of the head. It got me right in the front. God is great. He was watching me right there.”
Miller revealed and expressed his appreciation for Busch and more from the Chicago Cubs organization who have checked in and sent well-wishes.
“Hard head, no broken bones of fractures. Just a bruise and whatever else. Scans came back healthy, so I’m really thankful for that,” he added.
Bobby Miller embracing replay of line drive
Despite being someone who previously would look away whenever video of a pitcher getting hit by a comebacker was put in front of him, Miller has curiously changed his stance and estimated to have watched the replay “100 times.”
“That’s always been one of my biggest fears, taking a line drive to the head. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said.
“It kind of knocked me down but I was able to walk off all right. Hopefully, I’ll get back to action soon. … “Whenever I’ve seen a video of a pitcher getting hit in the head, I’ve never been able to watch the video. I’ve always been like, ‘Get that out of my face.’
“I always feared that, but now that it’s happened, I’ve been able to watch it. Scary moment, but it’s all good. I’m all right.”
What prompted the sudden change?
“I don’t know, honestly,” answered Miller. “I guess I don’t really fear it as much anymore, going through it. It could’ve been a lot worse, so I’m really thankful for that.”
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