BALTIMORE (AP) — With a big bruise on the right side of his face and several fractures, Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was back at the ballpark a day after being hit by a foul ball in the dugout.
“I can’t blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,” he said before a 4-3 loss to Arizona. “If I blow my nose, it’s going to go up into my eye.”
Albernaz said he has more than a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he was relieved to avoid surgery and said he doesn’t need his jaw wired. Albernaz joked that he might grab a Ravens helmet from his desk to wear in the dugout.
Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore’s manager, was in the part of the dugout closest to the on-deck circle when Jeremiah Jackson’s foul ball struck him in the fifth inning Monday night. He returned to the dugout an inning later when Jackson hit a grand slam, but he ultimately ended up listening to the game on the radio en route to a hospital, where he says he remained until about midnight.
“I was trying to get back out there after my concussion protocol was fine, but they wanted me to get a CT scan,” Albernaz said. “I was trying to get it after the game, but obviously the medical team has better judgment than I do.”
He was back in the dugout Tuesday, but the healing process could take time.
“Six weeks of soft foods,” Albernaz said. “Can’t do anything strenuous.”
Including argue with umpires?
“Medically speaking, yeah I probably shouldn’t,” he said. “I think everything gets thrown out the window when that first pitch happens.”
The Orioles also announced that infielder Jackson Holliday was recalled from his rehab assignment Monday because of mild right wrist soreness. The team said that’s not uncommon following hamate surgery. He will be shut down for a few days.
Albernaz has been loath to give timelines on players returning from injury so as not to create added pressure.
“I said I don’t believe in timelines, and this is a perfect example of that. It all depends on the player,” he said. “It’s great to see Jackson being communicative and open at every turn.”
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