On Thursday night, rookie outfielder for the New York Yankees Dustin Fowler suffered a ruptured patellar tendon of his right knee after crashing into the rail on the first base line at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago during the first inning of the rookie’s major league baseball debut.
The Yankees announced that Fowler was scheduled for Thursday night surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
After running into the rail, Fowler remained on the ground a number of minutes while medical personnel stabilized his right knee. He then was eventually hoisted onto the transport cart and taken from the field.
Girardi added that the season was over for Fowler and he thought that the time of recovery for that injury would be a minimum of six months and likely longer.
Fowler was going to lead off in the second inning for New York, which would have been his first at-bat in the majors.
Girardi said he was in tears when he heard what had happened to Fowler. He said he knows how difficult it is to reach this level and it was supposed to be such an exciting day for Fowler but turned into a very bad one.
Fellow Yankee players in the dugout and on the field all had concerned looks as they watched Fowler being worked on and then carted off the field.
Aaron Judge, the regular right fielder for the Yankees said the incident made him sick to his stomach. Judge was the designated hitter for the Yankees on Thursday.
After running into the rail, Fowler attempted to walk away but immediately collapsed but showed little emotion.
Left fielder Brett Gardner told reporters following the game that it was the worst thing he had seen while on a baseball field.
Girardi said an electrical box located at the top of a wall was to blame for the severity of Fowler’s injury.
The Yankees manager was quick to say he did not blame the White Sox, however, he insisted it needs to be looked at. It should have had padding around it or not placed there because if Fowler did not hit the electrical box he may have been injured but likely does not rupture a patellar tendon.
Girardi added that the league needed to determine a better plan for short walls in foul territory near the outfield.
