'Incredibly tough' McCann stays in game after taking fastball to the face

BALTIMORE -- James McCann took a 94.6 mph fastball to the face, potentially sustained a broken nose, bled all over the field and onto his jersey, had a swollen left eye making it difficult to see -- and then played eight more innings of baseball at catcher, the most physically demanding position in the sport.

“I take a lot of pride in being tough,” McCann later said.

There are clearly few tougher professional athletes than the Orioles’ 34-year-old backup catcher.

McCann was drilled by Blue Jays starter Yariel Rodríguez in the first inning of Baltimore’s eventual 11-5 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Camden Yards on Monday, before receiving a lengthy visit from head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, who worked to stop the bleeding from McCann’s nose.

“To get hit like that, to have the blood not stop, coming out of his nose and his mouth,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It seemed like he was fine, just obviously dazed and the blood wasn’t stopping. Just a really, really scary scene. He is incredibly, incredibly tough.”

It surely seemed like McCann would have to leave the game, but he took first base following the bases-loaded hit-by-pitch that pushed Baltimore’s lead to 4-0.

It then appeared as if McCann would be departing, as he exited the field for the dugout. But, as it turned out, McCann only left so he could put on a jersey that didn’t have blood on it. He then re-emerged to a loud ovation, taking his base with cotton gauze shoved up both nostrils (which remained there the rest of the day).

McCann -- who is scheduled to undergo a CT scan to see if his nose is in fact broken and will also visit with the team’s ear, nose and throat specialist -- again received cheers prior to the second inning when he crouched behind the plate to continue catching right-hander Zach Eflin’s Orioles debut.

“Honestly, before we even talk about the outing, what a leader James McCann is,” Eflin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on a baseball field. I just probably became his No. 1 fan. To be able to go through that and stay in the game and show the grit and determination and competitiveness that he has, it’s inspiring. That was awesome.”

“I’m really, really thankful that James is OK,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “That’s just life stuff -- he’s a father and a husband. You hate seeing that. I can’t believe he stayed in the game. I think everyone around the league probably respects him even more than they did already. I’m glad he’s OK. That was unbelievable what he did.”

McCann has had some close calls in the past while in the batter’s box. Last year -- his first season with the O’s -- there were numerous instances in which he nearly got hit in the face, but each time, he got some piece of his bat on the ball to keep it from happening.

This was the second time this month that a Baltimore batter got hit in the head at Camden Yards, resulting in a scary moment. Rookie outfielder Heston Kjerstad was drilled during a July 12 game vs. the Yankees, which led to him being placed on the 7-day concussion injured list the following day.

It’s always a frightening situation -- and even more so when you’re the one writhing in pain.

“I think, at first, it’s more scary than anything. It’s like taking a pretty good punch, a pretty good right hook, I guess,” McCann said. “Now, it’s just the swelling that’s kind of set in and hard to see a little bit. But other than that. …”

Because Monday featured a doubleheader, Adley Rutschman would have been called upon to catch nearly two full games if McCann hadn’t powered through. As Hyde recalled, McCann played through a left ankle sprain during a game at Wrigley Field last season so that the Orioles could keep Rutschman at DH and not force a pitcher to have to hit.

According to McCann, though, the twin bill had little to do with why he continued to play.

“I feel like I would have battled through as best I could even in just a single game,” McCann said. “Like I said, I take a lot of pride in being tough and grinding through things, and today was no different.”