Daniel Bard discusses the pitch that broke Jose Altuve’s thumb
During Saturday night’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game between Team USA and Venezuela, Jose Altuve broke his thumb after being hit by a Daniel Bard pitch.
For Altuve and Bard, this was the worst realized fear.
While most of the attention was on Altuve, Bard was emotionally hurt by the incident. On Sunday, the veteran reliever told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale he felt “awful” for injuring Altuve, saying he intended to induce a double play with the field and had everything just missed his place.
“I was diving for a swing. I missed the high and the low,” Bard said. “You just hate seeing him. You saw my reaction.”
Bard’s command had begun to betray him before striking Altuve. Looking for an out with two runners on base, one slipped away from Bard. When his throw made contact with Altuve’s right hand, Bard was visibly upset as he paced the mound.
World Baseball Classic teammates with current Astros Ryan Pressly and Kyle Tucker, Bard plans to get Altuve’s number in hopes of reaching out to apologize.
“You want to see great players on the pitch, even if I have to play against him,” Bard said. “I want to play against the best. I wish him hopefully a quick recovery. I know it will be a minute.”
According to the Astros, Altuve will undergo surgery to repair the fracture in his right thumb in the coming days. By ESPN Jeff PassanAltuve will likely miss at least two months of rehabilitation action.
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