Dustin Fowler and Moonlight Graham have something in common
In case you weren't watching -- because Thursday's game started at 11:00pm -- Dustin Fowler ruptured his right patella tendon in the bottom of the first inning running into the wall going for a ball down the right field line. He was one spot away from his first major league at-bat. Watching him sit on the warning track dirt waiting for the medical cart was one of the saddest and most twisted things I've ever seen watching baseball.
Watch at your own risk. #Yankees #DustinFowler #PleaseStopGettingInjured pic.twitter.com/wge8BVBZs8
— The BP Show (@YankeesPodcast) June 30, 2017
Sports can be cruel. pic.twitter.com/MBSbsIa7Lc
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 30, 2017
Didi helped carry Fowler onto the cart as his leg was immobilized pic.twitter.com/6SkV33Fp4L — Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) June 30, 2017
Dustin Fowler has an open rupture of right patella tendon in right knee. Will have surgery tonight at Rush U Med Center in Chicago. — Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 30, 2017
Dustin Fowler was 1 spot away from having his first at bat. Isn't that the exact story of Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams? — Andrew (@Andrew_Rotondi) June 30, 2017
As if that wasn't enough, I did a little digging on Moonlight Graham. Most people know Graham from Field of Dreams, but he was actually a real person. Turns out he played in his one and only major league game on June 29, 1905 for the New York Giants. He was a right field defensive replacement in the 8th inning but never got a chance to bat, ending up just one spot away. He was sent down the next day and never made it back to the bigs. Obviously, Fowler's situation is different because it involved a season-ending injury, and should be back healthy next year, but it's still super spooky. When it rains it pours for the Yankees, and right now it's a friggin typhoon. Follow me on Twitter: @Andrew_Rotondi