Giants coach Jose Alguacil needs surgery after being hit by line drive

San Francisco Giants first-base coach Jose Alguacil required surgery to repair a broken nose after being struck in the face with a foul line drive during Saturday’s Cactus League game against the Kansas City Royals.

According to Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group, Alguacil was seated on a folding chair outside the dugout and along the backstop when he was struck by the foul ball off the bat of Kansas City’s Hunter Dozier.

It’s noted that Algaucil never lost consciousness, but there was a sizable pool of blood left where he was seated. He also reportedly suffered a deep laceration and several small fractures of his orbital bone.

Algaucil was carted off the field and quickly airlifted to a trauma center in Phoenix where he underwent surgery Saturday night.

@SFGiantsFans Jose Alguacil carted off of field. Media Flight was also in the area. He was walking on his own. Take care buddy!! pic.twitter.com/KbNGUT3QzV

— Javajim (@Javajim44) March 4, 2017

“I felt awful,” Dozier said following the game. “It was a fastball inside, and it just kind of ran in on me, a two-seamer. It just hit my bat. I felt terrible. A freak accident. I had a hard time finishing the at-bat. I even asked [catcher Tim Federowicz], ‘How do I finish the at-bat?’ He just said, ‘Hey, it’s not your fault.'”

The Royals would go on to win the game 2-0, but afterwards everyone’s thoughts were on Algaucil.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy was seated near Algaucil when the incident occurred. He planned to visit him later Saturday, but he was also quick to point out the risk Giants coaches took when sitting along the backstop.

“It’s what we do here,” said Bochy. “This park is probably the closest out of all of them. It wasn’t really smart of us, especially at this park, to be sitting out there.”

There are no rules in place designed to prevent players or coaches from sitting in those spots, though some believe they’re warranted given the close proximity of home plate. Hopefully this incident triggers some second thoughts on that matter. While his injuries were serious enough to require surgery, Algaucil and the Giants were lucky to avoid a catastrophe.