SAN FRANCISCO -- When Giants pitcher Joe Martinez was drilled in the head by a line drive last week, there was perhaps only one person in the ballpark not emotionally shaken by the incident.Joe Martinez.
Martinez rejoined his teammates today for the first time since his frightening accident (watch it here) on the mound on April 9. Martinez suffered a concussion and three factures of the bones on his face. His right eye is black, but otherwise he seemed remarkably unaffected by the incident.
"I don't have too many lasting side affects," he said. "I'm not dizzy, no nausea. I'm feeling good."
Martinez, a 26-year-old rookie, described what happened when the Brewers' Mike Cameron hit a line drive into his head with one out to go in the his second big-league game.
"I didn't even really feel it hit me," he said. "It didn't dawn on me what had happened until I saw I was bleeding and then the trainers came out and told me to take a seat. I was lucky. I was in no pain. I was pretty coherent. It really wasn't that hectic of a situation, at least from my end. I knew I'd be OK."
How could he get hit by a line drive and feel no pain?
"When athletes are out there, their adrenaline is going," said Dr. Anthony Saglimbeni, the Giants' internist. "He's out there trying to get the last out. But, Joe is a little more than human. Most of us would have had a headache the next day. I think he's got a high threshold for pain. He had a little bit of a headache, but for him it wasn't as much of a complaint as it would have been to some of us."
As for Martinez's baseball career, that will be on hold for a while. He will not do anything -- not even riding a stationary bike -- for at least a month, because exercise can cause problems for people who have suffered concussions. After that, he'll basically have to start from scratch in conditioning his body and arm.
When Martinez does get back on the mound, he won't be more fearful of line drives. At least, that's what he thinks now.
"That's the first time I've been hit in the head, but I've been hit a lot of other places before," he said. "You don't think about it. It's part of the game. I'll probably duck a little quicker next time."
