Phillies prospect Matt Imhof retires, shares inspiring story following freak eye injury

There comes a time when every professional player must consider life after baseball. That reality wasn’t supposed to hit this soon though for Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Matt Imhof.

Imhof, 23, officially retired on Wednesday, seven months after losing his right eye in a freak training accident involving exercise bands.

Imhof himself wrote about his decision in a powerful and inspiring piece for ESPN. In it, Imhof explains the impact that split second of misfortune had on him, and how it’s not only ended his career, but reshaped his entire life. He also explains the process he’s gone through to heal physically and emotionally, which helped him to transition from aspiring pitcher to the next and most important phase of his life.

 

Here’s an excerpt:

I felt like the person who walked into that training room in Brevard County was not the same person sitting alone in this hospital room. Everything I thought I knew, everything I had planned for myself, was gone. Baseball, my future, my vision, all of it.

I was scared beyond anything I’d ever felt because I knew what decision I had to make. I told the doctors to go ahead with both surgeries, the one to repair my eye and, if that didn’t work, the one to remove it. There was no going back, so I strapped in and told myself it was all going to be OK.

Imhof admitted to feeling alone and depressed in the aftermath of his injury. There’s no shame in that, as anyone would need time to let such a traumatic experience sink in. He credits Dr. Wendy W. Lee, who performed his second operation, for reminding him that his life had only changed. Once that message resonated with him, he says, his outlook changed.

She looked at me and smiled, “Matt, the worst part is over. You survived.”

She continued, unaffected by my silence, “You have suffered a life-altering injury, not a life-ending one. It may be hard for you to see right now, but you can still do anything you want. You can play baseball again. You can drive a car. You can even be a brain surgeon. Anything that was possible for you before the accident is still possible for you now.”

 

Playing professional baseball will not be in Imhof’s future, but contributing to other aspiring pitchers careers will be. In fact, that’s already begun. Imhof is currently working towards finishing his degree in business finance at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He’s also currently serving as the undergraduate assistant pitching coach to the baseball program, which keeps the connection to the sport he loves wide open.

He says he doesn’t know if baseball or business will take top priority, or if there will be room for both. But he does recognize that he has a chance to make a difference, perhaps now more than ever since he’s not consumed by his own goals in baseball.

There’s more to Imhof’s story, which is well worth reading. You’ll undoubtedly feel his anguish, but you’ll also be reminded of the importance of picking yourself up and continuing on, even when it feels impossible.