Baseball players aren’t known for their toughness.
That badge of honor is typically reserved for hockey players, who are renowned freaks of nature. We’re talking about hardened warriors who will battle through two months of playoff hockey with broken bones, torn ligaments, bruised limbs and half their teeth missing.
As the kids would say, hockey players are just built different.
As such, you can’t really put baseball players into that same category. You can’t even really compare the two sports when it comes to physical toughness.
However, I’m sure the hockey community at large would have been proud of James McCann on Monday.
If you aren’t aware, McCann, a catcher for the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles, took a 95 mph fastball from Blue Jays rookie Yariel Rodríguez right to the nose. Even the sound that was made when ball made contact with human flesh was hard to listen to.
McCann was down on the ground for a while and was clearly in a hell of a lot of pain. I mean, anyone would be after taking a 95 mph fastball right to the face. After getting seen to on the field, which involved having some cotton stuffed up his nose, McCann went back to the dugout, got a clean jersey on and returned to first base.
Camden Yards showed their appreciation of McCann’s admirable toughness in kind with a standing ovation.
Another reason why the hockey community would have been proud of McCann was because of his motivations to stay in the game. With the Orioles playing the first game of a doubleheader, McCann was in the lineup to give star catcher Adley Rutschman a rest and a normal workload. If McCann would have left in the first inning, Rutschman would have faced 18 or so innings in the same day.
Talk about a selfless act.
And, not only did McCann stay in the game, but he played all nine innings and contributed a single, a run scored and one RBI in an 11-5 win for the O’s.
After the game, McCann looked like he had just finished a grueling Stanley Cup Playoffs campaign. His left eye was bruised and swollen shut, his nose still had bright red cotton buds inserted and he was clearly banged up more than a typical baseball player should be.
But, speaking to reporters after the game, McCann made it clear that he never intended on leaving the game.
“I take a lot of pride in being tough and doing everything I can to stay on the field,” McCann said.
What McCann did is incredibly rare in baseball, and it probably isn’t something we’ll see again for a long time. It was the most selfless of acts and not only did McCann earn universal respect from around the baseball world, but his ultimate display of toughness and teamwork earned praise from his teammates.
“What a leader James McCann is,” Zach Eflin said. Eflin, by the way, was recently acquired in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on a baseball field. I just became his No. 1 fan. To be able to go through that and stay in the game, show the grit and determination he has, it’s inspiring.”
RHP Tyler Wells emphatically agreed with that sentiment. “I would go to war every single day for James McCann,” Wells wrote in a social post. “But, after seeing that, I am convinced that I would be absolutely useless to him. That’s the toughest SOB I’ve ever met.”
McCann has multiple fractures in his nose but he’s been cleared to play. He’ll likely be available off the bench for Baltimore against Toronto on Tuesday.
Again, we don’t see acts of pure toughness like that on a baseball field very often. It is beyond rare.
But, not only did McCann show a boatload of resilience, but he also put team first above his own personal health. I can’t even imagine the pain he must have been in but, knowing there was another game to come that day, he decided to tough it out and stay in in order to help out his teammates.
Not only will a selfless act like that earn you respect across the board, but it can also serve as a rallying cry for the rest of the year. If the Orioles go on and win the World Series this year, expect the sight of McCann standing at first base all bloodied and beaten to be the defining image of that run.
McCann won a slew of new fans thanks to his gutsy display on Monday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the hockey community stopped and took notice.
After all, McCann’s show of toughness and ultimate fortitude is something we’re used to seeing in the NHL, not in Major League Baseball.
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