Arizona baseball freshman ace Kurt Heyer (4-0, 2.08 ERA) was blasted in the side of the head with a 110 mph line drive during the Wildcats’ 7-2 loss to California last Thursday. The Arizona Daily Wildcat caught up with Heyer to discuss one of the scariest plays in baseball.
Daily Wildcat: Could you just walk through the at-bat?
Kurt Heyer: Well, we were winning 1-0, I think their first baseman came up to the plate. I fell behind in the count 2-0, threw one down the middle, and I’m like ‘Alright, I’ve gotta battle my way back in the count.’ And then I threw one right down the middle again, and he just laced it and hit me in the head.
Is it all kind of a blur?
No, I remember everything. I was actually surprised. I heard everybody around me saying my name, and I’m like ‘Oh, I’ve got to get up. I don’t want to look like a weakling or anything.’ So I got back up, I was kind of dizzy at first, and then I finally gathered up my thoughts. They let me throw a warm up pitch, and I did. They didn’t want to take any risks, so they kept me up.
Coach was saying that you still wanted to stay in the game …
I was amped because I didn’t want to freaking leave the game in that situation. There’s no way. I wanted to keep going, but it’s early in the season, they didn’t want to make it worse.
So you went to the hospital then, right?
Yeah, I was in the hospital for, like, maybe three hours. They were just doing some tests. They did a CAT scan and everything. All they said was that it was a mild concussion. It was nothing too serious; all the muscles were just swollen up, so nothing happened with the skull or anything. Then they released me, and I was good.
Have you ever had anything happen like that?
No, no. I’ve gotten hit in the chest and in the hip; nothing in the head. That was a first.
Is that going to be in the back of your mind at all?
No, not at all. I’m just going to deal with it. It’s going to happen. Like our coach says, if it’s going to get you, it’s going to get you, and it got me. I’m not going to change anything.
