Jose Pirela suffers concussion after crashing into wall
Yankees centerfielder Jose Pirela crashes into the wall as he chases a ball hit for an inside-the-park home run hit by the New York Mets' Juan Lagares in the first inning of a spring training game Sunday, March 22, 2015, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Pirela was taken from the field on a golf cart and left the stadium in an ambulance. Credit: AP
Joe Girardi wanted to see versatile Yankees spring sensation Jose Pirela in centerfield. But he certainly didn't want to see this.
Pirela suffered a concussion and was taken by ambulance to Tradition Medical Center after crashing into the centerfield wall on what turned into an inside-the-park home run for leadoff batter Juan Lagares of the Mets in the first inning.
The Yankees announced Sunday night that Pirela had been discharged from the hospital and that all tests came back normal.
It was the infielder/outfielder's first start in centerfield of spring training.
"Obviously, you're concerned when a player doesn't get up," Girardi said. "He's having some tests run right now. I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get back. He did not feel good."
After the crash, Pirela went down and immediately reached for his head. After staying down for a while, the 25-year-old stood up and was driven off in a cart. Pirela, clearly woozy, sat in the passenger's seat with his left arm around Mets trainer Ray Ramirez.
"He was communicating with us," Girardi said. "He was just dizzy."
Pirela, who is batting .370, had wowed the Yankees throughout spring training with his bat, energy and ability to play multiple positions. He likely was going to start the season in Triple-A unless the team had an injury before the season opener.
Pirela hit .333 in seven games with the Yankees last September.
"The ball finds the barrel of the bat a lot," Girardi said before the game. "He provides excitement. We've moving him all around because we think he could possibly help us at a lot of different spots."
Now the Yankees just hope he will recover quickly and that they haven't seen the last of him this spring.
"You just don't know," Girardi said. "I hope not."
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
