Thursday was Dustin Fowler's day to remember but it quickly turned into a day to forget.
In the first inning of his first MLB game, Fowler suffered an open rupture of his right patella tendon crashing into the side wall while chasing after a foul pop-up. His season is over and he is expected to face a long and arduous rehab. Fowler was due to lead off the second inning for his first MLB at-bat.
Here's video of the play:
Fowler was carted off the field and taken directly to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery. He remained there overnight. The Yankees couldn't stick around, however. They had to leave Chicago following Thursday's game to go to Houston for this weekend's series with the Astros.
On Friday, the Yankees let Fowler know they're still thinking about him. Manager Joe Girardi got the team together to FaceTime with Fowler.
Girardi on team FaceTiming with Fowler: "I thought it was important that we see him and he saw us. I think he was happy."
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 30, 2017
Girardi: "I thought it was important that we see him and that he saw us.' Expect to see Fowler in NY after this trip. Rehab already underway
— Pete Caldera (@pcaldera) June 30, 2017
Even though Fowler was only called up yesterday, he was with the team in spring training, so everyone in the clubhouse knows him. He also played with many current Yankees in the minors, including Aaron Judge. He may be a rookie, but he's part of the Yankees family.
The good news is Fowler seems to be in good spirits despite the devastating injury. Here's what he told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post following the injury:
"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.''
...
"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.''
Thursday should have been one of the best days of Fowler's life. The former 18th round draft pick turned himself into a great prospect -- MLB.com currently ranks him as the 98th best prospect in baseball -- through hard work and the Yankees rewarded him with a call-up. Instead, Fowler suffered maybe the worst moment of his career. That's tough.
Hopefully Fowler's rehab goes well and the next time he plays in a big league game, it's that much more special.
