Luis Rojas had a close-up view when Kevin Pillar was hit in the face with a 94 mph fastball on Monday night, and knew right away that there was no helmet involved. The collision with the ball was all from Pillar’s face.
So when a bloodied Pillar was able to get back up minutes later, Rojas knew he was dealing with a different level of toughness when it came to his outfielder.
“Him getting up, it was like ‘this guy’s tough,’” Rojas told Carton & Roberts on Wednesday. “But we were all heartbroken…it was devastating. As the manager, you’re competing. You get up and watch the game, but you can’t stop thinking about Kevin.”
But concern quickly turned to relief for Rojas and the Mets, who saw Pillar tweet to his followers that he was “doing fine” after the game on Monday night, and despite suffering multiple nasal fractures that will require plastic surgery, he was in the locker room on Tuesday, insisting that he would be fighting Rojas to be in the lineup if he was able to see out of his right eye.
“He fired [the team] up,” Rojas said. “He came into my office and said ‘Hey, can I take the lineup card to the umpires?’ he wanted to go out there and show everyone he was fine…he was very concerned about Jacob Webb too…just hope he keeps competing like he does and this isn’t something that stops him, because I’m sure this is not going to stop Kevin.”
Webb was visibly shaken up after hitting Pillar, and Pillar made sure it was known that he didn’t hold any resentment and that the pitch was clearly unintentional. But an even bigger surprise than his immediate forgiveness was Pillar’s ability to be back with the team less than 24 hours after a scary scene in Atlanta. But there was Pillar, bruised but not beaten as he spoke to reporters on Tuesday and mingled with his teammates in the visiting clubhouse.
“His toughness is different,” Rojas said. “He fired up everyone yesterday. You have to admire that. KP is unbelievable…this guy is a tough guy. You want to be on his side.”
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