DETROIT -- A look at Jeff Ferrell on Tuesday would hardly reveal the trauma the Tigers reliever went through on the mound Monday night from a line drive off his head.
His state of mind was calm and clear. There's no gash on the right side of his head, where the A's Ryon Healy's liner struck him right above his ear. It's a little red, but not nearly as swollen as expected.
"I've been icing it all day, iced it last night," Ferrell said Tuesday. "I'll continue to ice it as long as the swelling goes down."
He walked and talked like any other player in the Tigers clubhouse at Comerica Park on Tuesday. But the soreness and the headaches were throbbing.
"I'm not feeling so hot right now," Ferrell admitted. "That area is real sore. The swelling has gone down a lot. Hopefully it continues to get better."
Even so, he realizes how fortunate he was that there wasn't more damage.
"I've seen that happen to other guys, and obviously I don't want it to happen to me, and it happened to me last night," Ferrell said. "It was just tough. I'm thankful nothing happened worse than it did.
"It could've been a lot worse. If it were a couple inches over on my face, it could've been a lot worse."
Ferrell underwent a CT scan at a nearby hospital Monday night, which showed no structural damage. Though he said he had some bleeding under his skull, it wasn't on his brain. He spent Tuesday waiting to talk further with doctors about the next steps, but he's currently in the MLB concussion protocol, meaning he'll have to pass a series of tests in order to return.
He wasn't planning on watching video of the line drive until a scroll through Twitter revealed it on his phone. He remembers it happening, but it happened so quickly that there wasn't much to recall.
"I didn't even see it, honestly," Ferrell said. "I didn't have time to move. Thank God I moved my head a little bit because it would've got me in my face. That would've been no good."
The fact that he stayed on his feet the entire time, walking on his own power to the Tigers clubhouse, was a very good sign.
"I kind of stopped and kneeled down and tried to gather my thoughts and think what was going on," he said. "I never lost consciousness or anything. I knew what was going on the whole time. Just a little foggy.
"On the way to the hospital [for the CT scan], it was painful, but I was still kind of in shock. The worst was when I got home last night and my adrenaline kind of calmed down and I was lying there. It was pounding. It wasn't fun, but like I said, it could've been a lot worse."
Ferrell has heard from more friends and teammates than he can respond to. He has also heard from Healy, who sent him a text Monday night.
"I talked to him today," Ferrell said. "Obviously, it happens. It's not his fault. I know he feels terrible."