Arizona Diamondbacks fans held their collective breath Friday night when catcher Chris Iannetta took a 93 mile-per-hour fastball to the face during a game against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
Iannetta was placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list Sunday -- but on Monday, the 34-year-old catcher looked much better than one might expect following Friday's frightening scene.
Before Monday's home game vs. the Mets, Iannetta relived the incident with ABC15's Jason Snavely.
.@Dbacks catcher Chris Iannetta talked to @JasonSnavely about what he remembers before and after he took a pitch to the face Friday. pic.twitter.com/ppBYDiA9gW
— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) May 16, 2017
"(Pirates pitcher Johnny Barbato) threw me like three sliders before then. I think I just misread that pitch," Iannetta said. "I tried to really stay on it, and by the time I recognized it was coming at me, I couldn't get out of the way.
"I remember getting hit and going down. I pretty much everything about that moment. It's something you'd like to avoid, but it happens, I guess."
After being looked at by D-backs medical staff, Iannetta was able to leave the field on his own power. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a broken nose and a couple of broken teeth, and he required stitches for a split upper lip.
When he watched the play on TV, Iannetta said he learned the source of another injury he's been dealing with since Friday.
"I understand why my ankle hurts now because I can see when I bent back when I fell down," he said. "But other than that, I'm very fortunate. Very lucky."
Iannetta said he's received messages of support from family, friends and fans since the incident, and he intends to return to the field as soon as possible.
In fact, later that night, he told D-backs manager Torey Lovullo that he wanted to play the next day.
"If this is hockey, I'd probably be out there the next period," he said. "I wanted to play, and that's what we're here to do."
As it is, Iannetta said he wants to put the play behind him and return to the field as soon as possible.
He seems to be well on his way to doing so.
"I was just glad I was OK for the most part," he said. "Having a busted-up lip and some broken teeth is the best-case scenario when you get hit like that, so I was happy about that."
