Yankees outfielder Dustin Fowler has every right to be in a terrible mood. In the first inning of his MLB debut on Thursday night, he suffered a ruptured right patella tendon in his right knee after crashing into the right field wall while chasing down a foul ball. He didn’t even get a chance for his first big-league plate appearance.
But Fowler is taking an amazing approach to his recovery, saying the injury could make it all the more special when he returns to the majors and finally gets to the plate for the first time.
From the New York Post:
“This is a journey I’ve gone through my whole life,’’ Fowler said from his hospital bed. “Now I’ve got to work that much harder to get there. Maybe it will be a little more special this go-round.’’
[…]
“I don’t let a lot of things get to me, so I’ll be able to bounce back,’’ he said with quiet confidence, “and we got a good group of guys I’ll be able to work with and get me on my feet as quickly as possible.’’
Here’s video of the play that sent Fowler into an emergency surgery.
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
— Stadium (@Stadium) June 30, 2017
Fowler is a top-10 prospect in the Yankees organization and was tearing it up in Triple-A prior to getting called up on Thursday. The good news is he had a successful surgery and expects to return to the diamond next spring.
“Everything is as good as it can be right now,’’ Fowler said. “The surgery went well. That’s always a plus. I’m just going to take it day to day right now. It ruptured but they were able to put it back in place and there wasn’t any other issues, so they said it’s going to be a pretty positive recovery. They said I’d be out for about four or five months and then be ready for the spring.’’
It’s admirable for a 22-year-old rookie to have this much perspective and poise during a trying time.
