6:56PM: Calhoun has suffered a fracture of his jaw, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake writes (via Twitter). The outfielder will undergo further examination tomorrow.
3:57PM: Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun was hit in the mouth with a 95mph fastball from the Dodgers’ Julio Urias and taken to the hospital today, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, and others. Calhoun did get up before being carted off the field.
Calhoun, of course, is a former Dodgers farmhand who was sent to Texas in the Yu Darvish trade. He established himself as an offensive force in 337 plate appearances last year, hitting .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs (110 wRC+).
Finding a defensive position has always been the task challenging Calhoun’s professional longevity. He made 71 starts in left field for the Rangers in 2019, though defensive metrics weren’t in love with his performance there (-7 DRS, -5.1 UZR). He came up as an infielder, though it seems more likely he’d move further down the defensive spectrum than back up it.
We will check back in with updates on Calhoun’s condition as they arrive. Calhoun did appear to get hit directly in the mouth, though he never lost consciousness. The injury is significant enough that manager Chris Woodward has left the yard to be with Calhoun at the hospital, per Grant.
Jeez. Hope he’s OK.
Ouch. I hope he’s okay and doesn’t have to lose any teeth.
He should have used pine tar to get a better grip on the ball.
Does anyone really care that a pitcher uses a substance to better grip the ball? I don’t think the hitters mind one bit.
Don’t try and defend that: That’s like an Astros fan defending the trash can banging.
Not really. There are tons of ML hitters who make the same argument as Halo11Fan here
Putting pine tar on the ball? Maybe scuff it up a bit….that’s nonsense.
I also liked when CC Sabathia had Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray on his podcast and they all explicitly said they didn’t care if anyone was juicing, because they were going to get them out anyway, but knowing whats coming and what the Astros did is much, much worse than juicing.
Strike four.
Then why did all those juicers do it behind closed doors and even lied to congress?
Because they knew it was cheating. Clue #1, if you do it in the dark, it’s more than likely cheating.
Did you read Doug Glanvilles article on ESPN today?
madmanTX.
No one with a clue would compare that to trash can banging or PEDs.
Not even close. Pitchers NEED substances to grip 2020 baseballs.
BS. They need goop mixture to throw it harder than they are normally able to and to get additional spin rate in breaking balls. The substance is in violation of the rules and gives them an unfair advantage over hitters. Have you seen the quality of breaking balls being thrown now. Splitters in the mid 90s and 100 MPH fastballs on the black. Cmon it’s no wonder hitters cheat to level the playing field
BS. They need goop mixture to throw it harder than they are normally able to and to get additional spin rate in breaking balls. The substance is in violation of the rules and gives them an unfair advantage over hitters. Have you seen the quality of breaking balls being thrown now. Splitters in the mid 90s and 100 MPH fastballs on the black.
I think you should try one more time.
Does it help, sure, but is players are saying it’s OK and it’s done out in the open… which is is.
Then it’s not cheating. Cheating is gaining an “UNFAIR” advantage.
Yeah cuz u know that’s close
Ask Gerrit Cole if he improved any after using whatever Houston gives their pitchers
Or verlander for that matter. Magically has his best years at 36+. Lmao totally legit
It’s not as simple as “let them use something”. The best will use that to gain a ridiculous advantage
Ironic your handle is common sense.
Cheating is gaining an unfair advantage. Things done with everyone consent is not cheating. Things done clandestinely, behind closed doors is almost always cheating.
I’ve never read a player complain about a pitcher getting a better grip and it’s done out in the open. That would tell someone with common sense something.
Common sense isn’t always so common.
-Emerson
@Halo11Fan – PED’s were definitely a thing Bud Selig himself allowed players to do for almost a decade before ESPN caught wind of it and made it a 25+ year narrative that PED’s the worst possible thing a player could do, but when the Astros just showed us all a much, much worse way now they’re silent about it and trying to sweep it under the rug.
Um… Verlander and Cole Gaines hundreds of revolutions on their fastballs and curveballs magically when they joined Houston? Something multiple pitchers have tried and failed to achieve, even going to institutions like Driveline? But they do it at 35+ or after years of mediocrity? Magic!
How naive do you have to be to NOT know that they are cheating, Halo…..
Btw, they’d say it’s for grip if they got caught. That doesn’t mean it’s legitimately fair what they’re doing…
Strike..
Did you watch hearings? Did you miss Vincent’s memo?
Saying Selig allowed it and saying he didn’t go to war with the players union are two different things.
IT TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS.
Hitters use gloves and pine tar for grip on the bat. If mlb could allow just one particular substance only for pitchers, I don’t see the problem. Having said that, I hope Willie is alright.
The problem is better breaking balls and more spin on fastballs. The league doesn’t want less offense.
It’s call the rosen bag right by the mound is only foreign substance that’s legal to use but can’t be use in cold weather for some old reason
That’s not true. There is no restriction on weather/temperature for the rosin bag. Pitchers may not want to use it when the it’s cold because their hands are already dry in most cold weather, but there is no rule against it.
You’re absolutely right Ranger,But the empires do allow pictures to lick their fingers in cold weather for grip, otherwise guys will be getting their jaws broken all the time from wild pitches, hope the player gets well soon, I broke my jaw when I was 17 and it was horrible
Umpires****
Rolling eyes
yikes, that’s bad. hope everything’s okay for him.
NOOOOOOOOOO
Yikes that sucks not going to go well for the braces
Actually braces help to keep teeth in when this happens. Per my son’s orthodontist.
i hate when stuff like this happens to stanton or calhoun that didnt deserve it but when addison russell got hit in the face his jaw didnt completely shatter
ALLOW BETTER GRIP
Or… I dunno, learn to harness your fastball maybe?
With pine tar
….. no, with practice and dedication to improving your craft.
As a former pitcher that threw in the 90’s, without pine tar and/or rosin in my glove or under my belt, I would have skulled many batters. Just a touch on my finger tips and the ball would never slip. Without it, the ball felt slick. They should make something to either universally put on the ball or allow a pine tar rag in your pocket. Yes, it helps get more rotations of the ball, but I bet hitters will trade that for not getting skulled.
lmao sure dude, none of these MLB players are practiced or dedicated. smooth brain you got there….
mikefults
Everyone knows pitchers use something to get a better grip on the ball. And no one has an issue with it.
It is done out in the open. Which is why you have an Angel clubhouse attendant giving it to the other team.
That sucks. Hope he’s better soon.
Great…
It was pretty bad he was bleeding alot out his mouth and he had to lie down face down on the cart when they took him out. I hope he is ok and nothing major but looked bad prob broken jaw.
Wow. I just don’t see how a 95 mph fastball to the mouth doesn’t do significant damage. My hopes and prayers for a speedy recovery.
I’m sure this will get blown up by negative comments but I’m really starting to dislike Julio Urias. I’m not saying he intentionally threw at Calhoun but how the heck do you accidentally throw a fastball 3 feet away from the zone? If that was an accident then he seriously needs to work on his command. I’ve been playing baseball for 15 years and am currently playing in college and of the thousands of pitches I have thrown in my life, I’ve never missed that bad with a fastball. The kid is also incredibly cocky, had his little domestic violence incident last year, even though charges were “dropped” and now this that, from the video, he didn’t appear too upset about seriously injuring another young player.
Didn’t urias beat his girlfriend or something if so he’s a POS
I’m sure he did it on purpose. Who’s the POS?
I just don’t understand why MLBTR even has a “flag option”.
These comments by Yankees500 and Losbravos have no place on this site guys. They need to be taken down. The assertions made by these two people are unsubstantiated and/or completely unrelated to the unfortunate event that took place yesterday. Moreover, they generated equally offensive, bigoted and unsubstantiated/irrelevant attacks on a young man’s character. Why is this allowed here? If the real names of these individuals were published there would be recourse and some potential accountability for their salacious and mean-spirited words. Please MLBTR editors–there should be no place for this garbage here!
I agree completely. Once upon a time these boards were over-moderated. Anybody remember when posts could be deleted if they were over 100 words? Now they are not moderated at all, as far as I can tell. One extreme to the other.
Welcome to baseball, sometimes pitches get away from pitchers. Sometimes they go wildly away. This is not new
Wow. You sound like an uninformed moron who reads headlines and think you’re an expert
These guys played with each other for years. They’re likely friends or at least acquainted. You’re an ass for assuming he’s enjoying injuring a player
Moron and ass. Two words that describe you perfectly, C.
Aww, you’re still butt hurt I owned you about Seager/Lindor Buzzed? Or was it Boston?
I’m the moron for saying a man who’s a friend of the man he hit in the face likely felt bad. What a hot take
Your analysis of the video is deeply flawed. You should watch it again.
But he plays in college so he knows his stuff!!!
Not like Calhoun was basically on the line of the box as he always is. God people are dumb
No one’s as dumb as you.
Where do people come up with such total nasty stinking crap? Urias and Calhoun are friends from when they were both with the Dodgers.
Agreed. Very good friends! Geez! Sometimes, usually Yankee or Padre fans, are really off the mark.
Friends, though I don’t how close. If you watched the game, at the end of the inning we saw Urias talking to Rougned Odor, who’d been on base. We didn’t know what that was about until this morning. Urias was asking for Calhoun’s phone number. Some people can only explain their own jerkiness by projecting it onto others.
Did you even watch the incident? He looked visibly shaken up and at the end of the inning Odor was consoling him while they were walking off the field, patting his back.
@yankees500 shut up no one cares about your background, you made a disgusting, terrible statement probably based in racism because you never say anything bad about any white players on this level. Go away.
It’s definitely not necessary to bring up racism in a discussion about a player being injured. Why turn this into something that it isn’t.
I can think of some other things that are definitely not necessary to bring up in this discussion but already have been.
Amazing how we eventually end up with racism.
If you’ve been pitching for 15 years then there’s no way you’ve never had one slip and it gone high and tight.
Either you are a liar or you play in a wiffleball league
So when a Ranger hit Mike Trout in the head three Springs ago, he did it on purpose?
I hate to see that hope for the best for Calhoun
Does this make Solak the everyday LF to start the season?
Rangers may need to look for some OF help to open the season.
JBJ
Hey Cards04, is this Karma also? His 2nd cousin’s wife’s aunt worked for the company who made those metal trashcans. Smh….moron commenter.
Hope he sues the heck out ofJulio and the Dodgers good. Sick of these fastballs to the face.
Lol you can’t be serious. Jesus Christ
Yeah there are so many of them. Show of hands. How many of us have been hit by a baseball? Come on! Pray for Calhoun who is a good guy and stop trying to start a bs controversy.
Glad to hear he’s more or less okay — definitely could have been worse — scary moment for sure. Wish him the best in his recovery! And glad for Urias it wasn’t worse too — there can’t be much worse of a feeling for a pitcher to have accidently caused such a scare!
I have been a Willie fan when was a Dodger and as a Ranger.
He can be a solid major leaguer if used correctly.
Sounds like he is going to be better than we all thought.
Let’s hope so.
Now we can’t comment on Mancini
Pine tar.
a lil dab’ll do u
Rick Vaughn:”What’s that s*** on your chest?”
Eddie Harris: “Crisco”, (wiping it across his forhead) “Bardol”, (wiping it across his waistline) “Vagisil”. “Any one of these will give you another two to three inch drop on your curveball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close I’ll rub a little jalapeno up my nose get it runnin’, and if I need to load the ball up I just…(wipes nose) wipe my nose”
Rick Vaughn: “You put snot on the ball?”
Eddie Harris: “I haven’t got an arm like you, kid. I have to put anything on it I can find. Someday you will too”
Rank my fantasy team
C-Gary Sanchez
1B- Luke Voit
2B- Jose Altuve
3B- Starlin Castro
SS- Javier Baez
OF- Eloy Jiminez
OF- Luis Robert
OF- Austin Meadows
SP- Noah Syndergaard
SP- Marcus Stroman
SP- Reynaldo Lopez
SP- Carlos Martinez
SP- Jaime Barria
SP- Homer Bailey
SP- Masahiro Tanaka
Bench- Clint Frazier
Bench- Justin Smoak
Bench- Austin Riley
Bench- Michael Pineda
Bench- Didi Gregorius
Bench- Aaron Judge
My league is head to head custom categories.
Nice you show a picture of his teeth…..
He should have been wearing a helmet that extended over his jaw instead of the one that just has an ear flap.
That’s exactly what I was going to mention.
Chances of being hit rise exponentially when you crowd the plate. Calhoun stands close to the plate and Urias missed his spot by a lot. It happens.
Calhoun could, and probably should, wear the face guard. But, he stands close to the plate like others thanks to the arm padding hitters use to help aid TJ surgery and better their offensive potency. Take them off, they will stop crowding the plate and we will see a much better baseball game night in and night out. And we might see less horrific drillings like this one.