Two days removed from being airlifted to a Phoenix hospital after being struck in the face with a foul ball, Giants’ first-base coach Jose Alguacil sent out a post-surgery tweet updating fans that he is recovering slowly and will be back soon.
Thank you to everyone , family , friends, Giants nation , I am recovering slowly I will be back soon , God Bless everyone pic.twitter.com/maWF9LYoop
— jose Alguacil (@Agui13Jose) March 6, 2017
According to Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group, Alguacil sent a similar photo to manager Bruce Bochy shortly after surgery.
“It looks like he went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali,” Bochy said. “Other than that, he’s in good spirits.”
Alguicil is expected to leave the hospital on Monday, and return to the club within a few days, after successful surgery to repair a broken nose and stitch up a deep facial laceration. Alguicil is not expected to return to his field duties for sometime, with video replay review coach Shaun Dunston taking as first-base coach for at least two weeks.
The former Sacramento Rivercats manager was seated along the backstop and dugout when he was struck in the face by a check-swing foul ball off the bat of Kansas City Royals’ hitter Neil Ramirez during the Giants’ spring training game in Paradise, AZ. Alguacil did not lose consciousness and was able to stand afterward before being carted off the field. The impact was great enough to result in a pool of blood being left where he was struck.
This is Alguacil’s first season as a San Francisco Giants’ base coach after managing the Sacramento River Cats last season.