The Chicago Cubs left Sunday’s 9-1 win with a huge concern regarding their third baseman. Alex Bregman was taken to the hospital after a foul ball off teammate Michael Busch’s bat hit him in the face. He had to leave the field with blood dripping from his cheek and nose. While he tried to send a positive message from the hospital, Chicago is left waiting for answers at a crucial point in the season. 

Bregman was preparing for his next at-bat, swinging on the on-deck circle. Michael Busch was at the plate facing Cincinnati Reds reliever Luis Mey. The batter checked his swing on a 97-mph fastball on a 1-2 count. But the ball hit his bat anyway, resulting in an unusual trajectory and hitting Bregman in the face. The helmet came off the 32-year-old, and he immediately dropped his bat to run towards the dugout. He stopped and covered his face with both his hands. 

“Alex Bregman got hit in the face with a foul ball on the on-deck circle and left the game,” Talkin’ Baseball captioned the short clip uploaded on X. 

The athletic trainer came running with a towel as drops of blood already appeared on his shoes. He was aided down the steps of the tunnel and rushed to the hospital. 

The on-deck circle is one of the most unsafe positions in baseball due to its proximity to home plate. As there is no protective barrier between the upcoming batter on the circle, he is technically exposed to foul balls, wild pitches and even shattered bats. 

“You never want to see that on the ball field. You can’t control any of that. It happened so fast,” Busch said after the game. “Any time [the ball] hits the head area, it’s scary. … You focus on the game, but it’s tough.”

Busch managed to draw a single after overcoming the initial shock of the incident. As Bregman was forced to exit the game after the injury, Matt Shaw replaced him. 

“He had a cut under his eye. He was bleeding from his nose a little bit. It’s pretty swollen. It was below the eye,” Craig Counsell revealed postgame. “It’s just an unfortunate accident. I’m hoping and praying he is all right.”

While his entire team and the fans are worried about him, Alex Bregman seemed to be taking it rather positively. The Cub posted an image of himself from the hospital with a caption, saying, “Thanks for all the messages yall. I’ll be back.”

The image, however, was not the most encouraging one. His left eye was swollen almost completely shut. And he had pronounced bruises around the eye and his upper cheek. Blood was still visible from the cut he suffered. And the $175 million star had a white gauze inserted in his left nostril to stop further bleeding. 

The 2x World Series champion exited in the top of the fourth with the Cubs leading 5-0. Shaw took over at second base in the bottom of the same, and Pedro Ramirez shifted from second to third. The Cubs won 9-1 and secured the series against the Reds.

“I mean, at the end of the day, you just hope your friend is OK,” Pete Crow-Armstrong said after the win. “That’s the news that I’m hoping for. But scary stuff. Such a rarity.”

Bregman’s injury is rare, but recent incidents suggest a troubling pattern. 

Recent scares don’t paint a good picture for Bregman and the Cubs

On September 8, just days before Sunday’s incident, Jamie Arnold, the Athletic’s top pitching prospect, suffered a similar scenario. During a Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators vs. Sacramento River Cats game, the pitcher took a 107-mph comebacker off the left side of his face. Although he was able to walk off the field on his own, Arnold was rushed to the hospital. The diagnosis revealed intra-orbital fractures, maxillary sinus fractures, broken left cheekbones, and a corneal abrasion. 

Last year, David Fry suffered a 99-mph fastball off Tarik Skubal during a Cleveland Guardians-Detroit Tigers matchup. The ball hit his bat and ricocheted to his face. Skubal dropped his glove and cap in shock. He even visited Fry in the hospital and apologized in person. 

The Guardians batter suffered multiple minimally displaced facial and nasal fractures. But neither he nor Arnold needed any surgery. While that is comforting, Arnold is out for at least 8 months. 

The Cubs are at the top of the Wild Card standings with just a 1.0-game cushion. Even if they manage to reach the postseason without Bregman, October wouldn’t be as smooth without him. 

Alex Bregman was batting at .262, recording 89 RBIs and 26 home runs. Replacing that production at this stage would certainly be a difficult task. 

“We have to get good results from the hospital first,” Counsell reiterated. “He got hit in the face, so you are worried about his general well-being first. If we get a good report, we’ll move to the next step. I want to get a good report.”

And the entire city is praying for the same while the Cubs await the medical reports before determining his playoff availability.