The return journey was a painful one for Kyle Farmer.
The Minnesota Twins infielder was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday after missing 25 games after suffering a facial injury from a hit-by-pitch. team announced,
Farmer suffered an injury on April 12, when Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito hit him in the face at 91.6 mph. You You can see the pitch hereBut be warned that this is a disturbing scene.
damage was done later elaborated in an interview with KARE 11 of Minneapolis, And the final damage seems brutal. Farmer reportedly needed 35 stitches, four root canals and wires to put his teeth back together. It was as horrifying as it sounds:
“Right when I went down, I remember my teeth covering my tongue in the back of my mouth,” Kyle said. “It's kind of horrifying. I felt like swallowing my bottom four teeth.”
the scary part is it could have been worse, as Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters The team was more concerned about a fractured jaw, specifically saying “Thank God we got the news it was better than we were expecting.” A jaw fracture would have sidelined Farmer for much longer than a month had he not.
Farmer's wife reportedly had a terrible time too, as she told KRE 11 she was flying at the time of the injury and had to find out after the fact via the Gameday app and video what happened:
“We were on a plane to new York and so I was keeping up with the game on my phone and I was reading and watching “hit by pitch” and in parentheses… “injury delayed” so I went back. I go and see what happened because he used to get hit all the time, and I was hoping it wasn't anything bad, but when I saw the delay in there, I knew it had to be bad,” Courtney he said.
Like many people watching from home, Courtney watched the replays in horror, unaware of the extent of Kyle's injuries.
“I was able to stay very calm,” Courtney remembered. “I saw the video after the fact, so I could see him get up and walk off the field, which helped.”
Injury interrupted Farmer's first season with the Twins, which saw him to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitching prospect Casey Legumina the previous off-season. In his first 11 games with Minnesota, the seven-year veteran hit .233/.286/.355 with one homer and five RBIs.