Chapman returns to Goodyear, speaks to media

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Reds closer Aroldis Chapman suffered a scary injury when he was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s bat last Wednesday.

He was carted off the field on a stretcher and taken to Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City, Ariz., where initial tests indicated a fracture above his left eye and nose and a minor concussion.

The Cuban native underwent surgery on Thursday afternoon and had a metal plate inserted to provide stability above his left eye.

Chapman returned to the Reds Spring Training complex in Goodyear, Ariz., on Sunday and spoke to the media for the first time since the incident.

His interpreter, Tomas Vera, translated what Chapman said.

How are you feeling?
To be honest with you, I feel really good. I feel a lot better than I thought I was going to be. I feel good.

What were your thoughts out there and when did you feel relieved?
At that exact moment you don’t have a chance to think about anything when it actually happened. All I was thinking about is nothing wrong was happening with me. I didn’t have any bad thought in my mind when I was down and feeling what I was going through. The worst part was when they told me that it was going to be a while before I throw. That’s the part that actually bothered me. That’s what I was thinking about. That’s what made me mad was the time I was going to be away from the field.

How scary was the moment?
To be honest with you, I wasn’t thinking about (anything). It’s so quick, something you don’t have a chance to think about. But as the time was coming I was conscious the whole time. I never lost my consciousness. I knew what was going on. But I started worrying about what happened. My face just started getting bigger and I started thinking about what were the consequences going to be from this. But I was able to recognize and know what was going on with my surroundings.

Have you ever experienced anything close to that?
Never anything like that, personally. To me, this is the first time in my whole life that I have something like that happen to me. I never experienced something like that before in my whole life.

Do you worry about the mental aspect of getting back on the mound and how do you get over that?
Personally, I haven’t had a chance to think about that. I haven’t thought about what’s going to happen with this. I think it could happen to anybody else and it’s just something that could happen in my job. I know this is something that is going to happen and I just have to get over it. Personally, what I’m thinking right now is I’m going to have to throw more balls in now and I can’t leave balls in the air so I’m going to have to throw inside more.

Where are things going to go from here?
In the next few days I’ve been told I’m going to be able to start working with my cardio, walking on the treadmill and I’m slowly going to be able to start with more activities. And also start picking up a ball and keeping my arm in shape and then progresses as pitching goes in the next few weeks. Whatever they told me I’m allowed to do I will do it.

What did it mean to have the teammates support you?
I feel proud. I feel really happy to know I have this many people who came to me. All of my teammates came to see me and it will make you feel good when you see all the people. Not just from my team, all the Cuban players here in this area came to see me. Not only the physical part, but also through social media. The amount of people who have prayed for me and the good things they are doing for me make me feel proud and happy of so may people who contacted me.

Was that your father that came out to the mound?
Yes, that’s my father. I didn’t really see it when he came in, but after I saw the video and the replay of that I saw him there. He was with me the whole time.

Are you surprised at how good you look considering?
I feel surprised like you. I can’t believe it, but after I watched the video and every time I see it I feel really happy because this could be something worse. The way I feel right now, I have no pain, how I have been progressing through this has been great.

What about the picture you posted to social media?
Basically, when you have so many people trying to contact you and asking you how things are going you don’t have time to reply to everybody. I wanted to show them how I feel so I decided to put that picture on Facebook and Instagram to show them I’m doing good.