BACK IN BIGS AFTER SEVEN YEARS
Ex-cub Adam Greenberg takes his cuts in first at-bat since 2005 beaning
Adam Greenberg, who was hit in the head by a 92-m.p.h. fastball in his first at-bat as a rookie in July 2005 and never returned to the majors, strikes out against Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey in a one-off pinch-hit appearance for the Marlins on Tuesday night.
MIAMI— The roaring crowd rose as one when Adam Greenberg walked to the plate for the first time in seven years, and Marlins teammates leaning over the dugout railing joined the applause.
Three strikes later, they were cheering still. Greenberg’s second chance in the major leagues went a lot better than the first one, even though he struck out.
“It was magical,” he said. “The energy in the stadium was something I never experienced, and I don’t know if I will ever experience it again. You could just feel the genuine support. It was awesome.”
Beaned by the first pitch he saw in the majors in 2005, Greenberg made a comeback Tuesday night and fanned on three pitches as a pinch-hitter for Miami. The Marlins won 4-3 in 11 innings.
Greenberg signed a one-day contract before the game and led off the sixth inning against New York Mets 20-game winner R.A. Dickey, who threw him three consecutive knuckleballs. Greenberg took the first for a strike, then swung at the next two and missed.
The game was Greenberg’s first since his major-league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2005, when he was hit in the back of the head by the first pitch he saw — a 92-m.p.h. fastball that derailed his career.
Back in the big leagues at age 31, Greenberg took part in batting practice and then watched the early innings from the bench. After Rob Brantly homered, he received a celebratory chest bump from a grinning Greenberg in the dugout.
By the fifth inning, Greenberg had a bat in his hands as he paced in the dugout. In the sixth, manager Ozzie Guillen sent him up to bat for outfielder Bryan Petersen. Guillen, a former player, watched as Greenberg walked to the plate and the ballpark shook with a roar. “You know what went through my mind?” Guillen said. “I said how lucky I was to get 10,000 at-bats in the big leagues.” Greenberg swung under an 80m.p.h. knuckler for strike three and the crowd groaned, then renewed its cheers as Greenberg returned to the bench. He smiled as he received a hug from Jose Reyes, high-fives from other teammates and a whisper in the ear from Guillen. “A lot of mixed emotions there, getting high-fived after a strikeout by the entire team,” Greenberg said. “It was different.” When Greenberg slipped his bat into the rack, he was still grinning. The at-bat had lasted 33 seconds. “It’s going to last an eternity for me,” he said. Guillen replaced him in the lineup before the next inning. For seven years, Greenberg was one of only two players to be hit by a pitch in his lone big-league appear-
“Life throws you curveballs. Mine threw me a fastball at 92, and it hit me in the back of the head. I got up from it, and my life is great.”
ADAM GREENBERG
ance and never take the field. The other was Fred van Dusen with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1955.
Van Dusen flew down from his home in Franklin, Tenn., to attend Tuesday’s game. He threw out the first pitch and joined the rest of the crowd applauding Greenberg’s comeback.
“Life throws you curveballs,” Greenberg said. “Mine threw me a fastball at 92, and it hit me in the back of the head. I got up from it, and my life is great.”