Vogelsong’s Baseball Roller-Coaster Ride Continues Despite Career-Threatening Injury

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At the pinnacle of his major-league career, Vogelsong and wife Nicole celebrate the Giants' World Series win in 2014.

Ryan Vogelsong’s whirlwind of a career in professional baseball – which has spanned 19 seasons, 15 teams, and three continents – is not over.

After suffering a horrific injury more than two months ago while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1995 Octorara High School graduate returned to the mound last Thursday night, tossing six solid innings against the Atlanta Braves.

Amazingly, the 39-year-old’s career – and vision – survived getting hit in the face in late May by a 92-miles-per-hour fastball from Colorado Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles.

“My career’s over,” Vogelsong told Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk while he was lying on the ground, writhing in pain immediately after the incident. “I lost my eye.”

Sitting in an ambulance on his way to Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital, Vogelsong told his wife, Nicole, “After everything I’ve been through, I can’t believe this is how it’s going to end, with me getting hit in the face by a pitch.”

After surgery to replace multiple facial fractures, his vision would gradually improve, going from 20-80 to 20-40, then almost 20-20.

“I was very lucky, fortunate, and blessed to be able to see at all,” Vogelsong said.

The fifth-round draft pick from Kutztown University, who is already a member of the school’s Hall of Fame, has a career record of 59-69 in Major League Baseball, with a 4.42 ERA.

A 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander, Vogelsong pitched a few years in Japan, before securing a spot in the San Francisco Giants’ rotation in 2011.

Vogelsong then helped the Giants win two World Series (2012 and 2014). He was also named an All-Star in 2011.

“Obviously, you never want to get drilled in the face,” Vogelsong said. “But I know how short my time is left in this game because of my age. When you’re 39, you’re trying to get as much time in as you can before it’s all over, and you never get to play again.”

Click here for the full story of Vogelsong’s recovery on Fox Sports.
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Top photo credit: Giant’s World Series Parade 10-2014 via photopin (license)

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