San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
‘Dodged a bullet’: A’s Bassitt optimistic
A’s right-hander Chris Bassitt returned to the Coliseum on Saturday, days removed from surgery for a facial fracture, his right eye still slightly swollen, his focus on resuming normal life and pitching again before long.
“I’m good, all things considered,” Bassitt said from the A’s dugout before a game against the Yankees. “Obviously somewhat dodged a bullet. But I mean, the prognosis for going forward is looking great, so just excited to be as lucky as I was.”
Bassitt, who was struck by a line drive off the bat of White Sox outfielder Brian Goodwin in an Aug. 17 start in Chicago, said he does not remember the impact or throwing the pitch that preceded it.
“There’s probably a fivesecond spot in there that I don’t remember anything, and honestly, I think it’s a gift from God,” Bassitt said. “I don’t want to remember it. I haven’t watched a replay of it; not going to ever watch the replay of it. So the demons, so to speak, that could haunt you on the mound — I know I’m a little bit of a messed-up individual, but I don’t really have any concern
A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt does not remember the impact of the ball hitting his face.
about getting back on a mound.
“I don’t have a fear, I don’t have something in my head that’s telling me, ‘This is what’s going to happen.’ Because, obviously, I went through something but I haven’t really lived it; I don’t remember it. So I’m glad that kind of worked out the way it did.”
For Bassitt, getting back on a mound is not imminent. Bassitt had surgery Tuesday to correct a tripod fracture in his right cheek area and have bone fragments removed. He flew from Chicago back to the Bay Area on Friday. He said, as of Saturday, his focus was still on monitoring pressure around his eye and making sure no bleeding occurs. He will remain mostly inactive for the next couple of days.
“We’re still in a sensitive area, so to speak, where I’m not allowed to do anything,” Bassitt said. “But hopefully, in the coming days you’re going to see me doing a lot more baseball things.”
The A’s have not set any timeline on Bassitt pitching again. Bassitt, though, voiced optimism Saturday that his season is not over.
“The doctors made a mistake in telling me that I’m going to be OK in a couple weeks,” Bassitt said. “So when they said that, I said, ‘All right, we’re rocking.’
“Obviously, the front office and (manager Bob Melvin) and (pitching coach Scott Emerson) and those guys are going to do everything to take care of me. But, yeah, I mean, if everything progresses the way it should, I want to be back before the end of the season. And hopefully I am.”
The A’s have 32 games left in their regular season. Melvin said he does not know whether that would give Bassitt time, even if recovered, to rebuild his arm stamina to make a start.
“Really and truly, if he gets on a mound and throws and feels good by the end of the season, that would be enough for him to have confidence going into next year,” Melvin said. “But I don’t put anything past him.”
Bassitt already has responded quickly. Two days after his injury, Bassitt visited the A’s in their clubhouse in Chicago. He credited A’s and White Sox staff and medical professionals for their aid. He said the vision in his right eye is “basically back,” limited only by leftover swelling. His eye still showed some discoloration, but he displayed only a thin scar from the surgery.
“I didn’t have brain surgery, I didn’t have a brain injury — which is massive,” Bassitt said. “So I can deal with some face pain, and I can deal with some swelling and stuff like that and not looking too pretty. But I obviously need to be here not only for the guys on the team, but for me, too. So, yeah, I’m just excited to be here; excited to kind of try to get my life back to normal.”