It was one of the biggest tragedies in baseball history, and led to one of the more poignant ‘What if’ questions in the game. What if, on this day in 1967, the Boston Red Sox young star, Tony Conigliaro, was not hit in the face by a pitch?
They saw it coming. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette would admonish Tony Conigliaro to turn away from the pitcher on pitches inside, but he insisted on opening up instead. Yes, it helped Conigliaro turn on the inside pitch, and as he was already a feared home run hitter at age 22, he saw no reason to change.
On this day in 1967, those predictions came true. A fastball from Jack Hamilton sailed inside, and Conigliaro, as he was wont to do, turned to face the pitch. It drilled him in the face, breaking his cheekbone, dislocating his jaw and severely damaging his left retina. These injuries caused the Red Sox young outfielder to miss the rest of the year and all of 1968.
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He did come back with the Red Sox, showing some of his old power, but was never the same. After two more years in Boston, Conigliaro was sent to the Angels, where he lasted for 74 games in 1971. He returned again briefly with the Red Sox in 1975, but his eyesight issues led to his retirement from the game.
Even with those missed years, Conigliaro had a solid career. Considering that half of his eight Major League seasons occurred after his horrific beaning, Conigliaro’s .264/.327/.476 batting line with 166 home runs was rather impressive. He and Bryce Harper are the only teenagers to hit 20+ home runs in a season, and he won a home run title at age 20. Those numbers are certainly enough to make one wonder what could have been.
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After just three and a half years, the Boston Red Sox seemed destined to have another all time great in Tony Conigliaro. Instead, his career came to an abrupt halt, never to be the same again. If only he learned to turn away.