Gonzalez’s Beaning Stirs Memories

Juan Gonzalez woke up in a hospital room Saturday morning, where doctors asked him goofy questions - “Who’s the president of the United States?” - examined his head and released him.

Nine and one-half hours later, he was in the Texas Rangers’ starting lineup, trying to shake off the impact of a fastball to the head thrown Friday night by Mariners right-hander Bob Wolcott.

“I didn’t really feel it, I kind of heard it,” Gonzalez said of the pitch that caromed off his batting helmet. “It sounded like a gun going off.”

That meeting of baseball and batting helmet is, manager Johnny Oates said, one of the rare instants in which an entire ballpark goes silent.

“I don’t care who it is, it’s a frightening moment,” Oates said.

Manager Lou Piniella agreed, remembering a time in Detroit when, as a player, he was hit in the head with a fastball.

“A right-hander named Chuck Seelbach got me right above the ear,” Piniella said. “It rang my bell pretty good. I was dizzy, I had a little blood in the ear and a pretty good lump on my head.”

What Piniella remembers most is the aftermath.

“I was never afraid at the plate in my life,” he said, “but that first at-bat after I’d been hit, my knees were a little wobbly. I grounded out to shortstop and after that I was fine.”

Both Oates and Piniella said one difference in the sport today is that fewer pitchers throw up and in on hitters, so fewer players get hit in the head.

“In my era, and a little before my era, there were head-hunters,” Piniella said. “They wouldn’t push you off the plate, they’d put you on your back.”

Notes

The grand slam Ken Griffey Jr. hit Friday was the 266th home run of his career and moved him into a tie with Vic Wertz for the 97th spot on baseball’s all-time home run list. George Hendrick is 96th with 267 home runs. Asked if he knew who Vic Wertz was, Griffey asked: “A broadcaster?” … Russ Davis’ second-inning bloop single gave him a career-best 10-game hitting streak… . Jay Buhner’s production is approaching the numbers he posted through the All-Star break a year ago. In the first half of ‘96, Buhner hit 23 home runs and had 72 RBI. With 15 games left before the break this year, Buhner has 19 home runs and 55 RBI.