Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller returned to the mound for the first time Thursday since being struck in the head with a line drive.
While it was only a bullpen session, it was a huge step in his recovery after such a scary injury.
Miller admitted that a comebacker was his biggest fear when he was on the mound but now he has conquered it and is ready to move on.
“Whenever I’ve seen a video of a pitcher getting hit in the head, I’ve never been able to watch the video,” Miller said Saturday in his first session with the Dodgers’ media since the incident.
“I’ve always been like, ‘Get that out of my face.’ I always feared that. But now that it has happened, I’ve been able to watch that. Scary moment, but it’s all good. I’m all right. I guess I don’t fear it as much any more, going through it.”
Miller escaped the frightening moment with concussion-like symptoms. He didn’t have any fractures and had to go through a series of prescribed steps before he was cleared to get back on the mound.
“Adrenaline really kicks in right then,” Miller said. “Fall over, I didn’t really know what I was about to feel. You don’t feel it right away. 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 the back of the head or in the front.
“That’s always kind of 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. It kind of knocked me down, but I was able to walk off all right. Hopefully get back to action soon. It could have been a lot worse. I’m really thankful for that.”
The Dodgers are anxious to get Miller back in a game. Manager Dave Roberts said the team would address where he is after the bullpen but he doesn’t think Miller will be too far behind.
“I don’t think it’s been that long as far as costing him, as far as his build-up,” Roberts said. “I’m confident that the mindset, the mentality, the fear, he’ll be able to manage. But I think that once he gets past this (bullpen session), it’s more going to be on him and how his comfort level is.”
