Ouch
Kevin Pillar saying 'I feel good' while looking like he's been mauled by a bear is sneaky hilarious
Not to get all cliche-y up in here, but the New York Mets outfield has literally been dropping like flies in the month of May. And, in fairness, each injury has been very legitimate, two of them of the terrifying variety, which bucks the trend of baseball players being extremely soft.
First, it was Albert Amora going face first into the wall attempting to catch a fly ball last Wednesday. Then it was Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto each going out with separate ailments, and finally, Kevin Pillar, who was hit in the face with a 94-mph fastball on Monday evening in Atlanta:
Scary stuff, and, unfortunately, a continuation of one of baseball's alarming new phenomenons - pitchers with zero control constantly throwing as hard as they possibly can, and occasionally missing badly like Braves reliever Jacob Webb did here. Walks are up, and in turn hit by pitches are up, and when they are coming in at 95-plus, you ain't getting out of the way in time.
Sooner rather than later, a discussion about face shields being required will begin, and it sure seems warranted when you see what this pitch did to Pillar's face, knocking him out of the lineup until at least June 11:
(Billy Madison voice) GOOOO. If that's what a 95-mph'er does to one's face, just imagine what one 100-mph-plus could do. I'm a true baseball hardo that often leans toward old-head arguments, but I'm not sure who can look at Pillar's face and say they'd be against some sort of face shield rule being implemented. These pitchers aren't throwing any slower and they aren't getting any less wild.
Anyway, the point of this post. Pillar met with the media on Tuesday, mauled face and all, and had the absolute GALL to say he "feels good." Respect to that, but it is one of the more unintentionally hilarious clips ever:
Why, yes, I've just been attacked by a grizzly bear but I feel good, I feel good. Stones of steel, I guess. He even brought out the lineup card Tuesday night:
Big props to Pillar for singlehandedly attempting to change the narrative on baseball players being soft. Then again, a hockey player probably would have not missed his next shift. Just sayin' (please like my sport!).