Dahl works his way back
Rockies outfielder has been sidelined with rib injury
Injuries are part of the game for professional athletes but some are a lot more frustrating than others. Ask David Dahl.
Coming off a sparkling rookie season, the Colorado Rockies outfielder has missed pretty much all of 2017 with a rib injury he can’t begin to explain. He’s now four games into a rehab assignment with the Albuquerque Isotopes and dearly hoping to make up for lost time.
Dahl, 23, had understandably high expectations after hitting .315 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs in 63 games with the Rockies last season. But things turned south quickly when he went to spring training this season.
He suffered a stress reaction of his sixth rib bone and sill is at a loss to understand how or why it happened.
“I really have no idea,” Dahl said before Monday’s 6-5 Isotopes victory over visiting Tacoma. “I was stretching before the second game of spring training and I felt a twinge. When I tried to swing a bat I realized I couldn’t rotate.”
Dahl assumed it was a soft-tissue injury but later tests showed the stress reaction. Suddenly swinging a bat became the least of his problems.
“It was really painful at first,” he said. “I couldn’t even tie my shoes or put my clothes on.”
Add to that the frustration of having to watch his Colorado teammates get off to a sizzling start. Dahl spent the season’s first two months commuting between Denver and the Rockies’ spring training facility in Arizona, where he received treatment.
“The team was playing so well and I was excited for them,” Dahl said, “but at some point you want to help. It got more and more frustrating but there was really nothing I could do.”
To make matters worse, first-year Rockies manager Bud Black has yet to see Dahl play in person. He told the Denver Post on Monday that the outfielder’s minor league stint could last a while. “He didn’t have spring training. This fella has to get at-bats,” Black said. “So he will stay down there for awhile to get some at-bats. We’ll see if there’s a return to the big leagues or not.” Fortunately, Dahl is finally in a position to start seeing some positives.
First, his injury finally seems to have healed. Dahl has been pain free for a month and reports no adverse effects from his first week of baseball competition this season.
Second, Albuquerque has been something of a comfort station. Dahl hit a scorching .484 with five homers and 16 RBIs in just 18 games with the ’Topes before being called up last season. For the time being, he’s glad to be back.
“We have a good group of guys here and coaches that know us well,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, taking my atbats and getting back up to speed. This is a good team, too. Hopefully, I can help out.”
Dahl did more than his part Monday, smacking a bases-loaded triple, driving in four runs and scoring another in the win. He’s hitting .286 thus far, but it’s pain- and frustration-free.
“At this point,” he said, “I’ll take it.”