Hunter Pence’s Injury Causing Unjustified Anger Among Fans
Spring Training is for making your name known around the baseball world, and Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Corey Black did just that on Thursday. Unfortunately for him, and the San Francisco Giants, the notoriety came at the expense of Hunter Pence, as Black is now known as the man who broke Pence’s forearm.
On Thursday, the Cubs and the Giants squared off in the third game of the Spring. Black entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the frame didn’t exactly start pretty for the 23-year-old reliever. After he retired Nori Aoki to lead off, Black walked Brandon Hicks and Brandon Belt, then faced Pence with two on and one out.
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Black threw a fastball in tight, but it came in too tight. The ball caught Pence in a bad spot on his arm, and he went to the ground in obvious pain. After a few seconds, he hopped up and jogged down to first, but was removed from the game, replaced by pinch runner Mac Williamson.
After the game, Pence had x-rays done, and they revealed a fracture in his forearm.
Black did nothing wrong. There was nothing malicious about the pitch. Black, like so many other players taking part in these audition games, is fighting with everything inside of him to earn the opportunity to achieve a dream held by so many: playing major league baseball. He just happened to bean an established star, and his name is now ingrained in Giants’ fans’ minds for all the wrong reasons.
The contrast between Pence and Black is palpable. Pence is a multi-time All-Star, with two World Series rings on his resume. Black, on the other hand, hasn’t pitched in a game above Double-A during his four-year minor league career.
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It’s easy to be angry at Black. It’s even understandable. He hurt our hero. He hurt the man whose motivational speeches are famous in the baseball community. He hurt the man who made “Yes!” chants ring, not just in arenas full of professional wrestling fans, but throughout AT&T Park as well. He hurt the man whose iron-man streak of 383 consecutive games, the longest active in baseball, will come to an end on opening day in 2015.
Pence is a superhero to many, and Black has now taken on the role of the super villain. If Pence were Spiderman, Black would be Doc Oc.
But just because the anger is understandable doesn’t mean it is justified. This is a guy who is doing what he loves, and trying to become a big leaguer. He didn’t take the field with the intention of knocking Pence off of his pedestal. This was nothing more than an accident, and no one feels worse about it than Black.
Lost for words. Hope you heal fast @hunterpence hitting someone is never a good feeling. Hurting someone is even worse.
— Corey Black (@CblackCHC) March 6, 2015
Most fans are understanding. They realize that Black meant no harm. But there is the minority who feel that Black should be taken out behind the woodshed. There would be those same fans if the roles were reversed.
If Giants’ newcomer and journeyman Braulio Lara were to plunk Cubs’ star Anthony Rizzo and break his forearm, there would be some Cubs’ fans calling for Lara’s head on a silver platter. The fans who let the anger get the best of them will hold a grudge forever.
The scenario would be the same for any team. When a star player is hurt by an essentially no name player, anger will be heard. If Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken forearm at the hands of a player like Cameron Lawrence, the fury would ring.
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Pence does everything the right way, even if nothing he does is the “correct” way. No one throws like him, no one swings a bat like him, and no one even runs like him. But he always give 100 percent every single time. You’ll never see him lollygag to first base on a weak groundball or a pop-up on the infield. He always busts his butt to first base, without question. That energy, that passion, will be missed.
Pence is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks of action, which would include about two to four weeks of the regular season. Considering he suffered a fracture in his forearm, that is probably the best case scenario.
Black isn’t a villain. He’s not a bad guy. He’s a baseball player who lost control of a fastball that happened to hit Pence. That’s the nature of the game. Those are the risks involved with playing. Pence understands. You should too.
Next: Five Relievers Competing for One Job in Giants' Bullpen