Chris Bassitt takes line drive to face in frightening incident

Every pitcher’s biggest nightmare is a hard line drive right through the box. After the follow through, and with how hard a ball can be hit, there is virtually no time to react. You have to hope that the ball either misses or somehow finds the glove, with that line drive just being another near miss.

The worst case scenario happened to Chris Bassitt on Tuesday night. With two on and no out in the bottom of the second, Brian Goodwin sent Bassitt’s 1-1 cutter right back up the middle, hitting the Oakland A’s hurler in the face.

Chris Bassitt faces every pitcher’s worst nightmare

Bassitt was struck in the area to the side of his nose under his eye, resulting in a wound that bled profusely. He left the field on a stretcher and was transported to a nearby hospital. Fortunately, according to the A’s, he is alert and conscious, which is a great sign.

More from White Cleat Beat

• Zach Logue yet another disappointing Oakland A’s trade return
• Luis Barrera heading to familiar foe in Los Angeles Angels
• Looking back at Ruben Sierra with the Oakland A’s
• San Francisco Giants showing Oakland A’s offseason could be worse
• Lucas Luetge what Oakland A’s need in bullpen

This is the type of injury that can stick with a pitcher. Over the years, there have been some potentially great careers that were destroyed due to pitchers being struck with a sharply hit ball. Dizzy Dean‘s brilliance came to a screeching halt when a line drive broke his toe and lead to his ruining his arm. Herb Score was hit in the face with a line drive during his third season, with the former All Star and strikeout king unable to regain his form afterwards.

The A’s certainly hope that will not be the case with Bassitt. He has emerged as the team ace, the pitcher that they can count on for a strong outing virtually every time he takes the ball. His loss, for any stretch of time, would make a major impact upon their postseason hopes.

But those concerns should be secondary at this point. What is important is Bassitt’s health, making certain that he does not suffer any ill effects from that line drive. The initial reports are encouraging, but Bassitt will need to undergo a battery of tests and observation before being released.

Our thoughts are with Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt as he was struck in the face with a line drive on Tuesday. Hopefully, he will be okay.