BALTIMORE – New York Yankees outfielder Chris Dickerson considers himself "extremely fortunate" to have only a headache and a concussion after being struck in the head by a baseball on Wednesday night.
Dickerson was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore's Mike Gonzalez in the 15th inning of New York's 4-1 victory.
After a sleepless night, Dickerson joined his teammates in the clubhouse before Thursday's game against the Orioles. He wasn't in the lineup, but hoped to return to action Friday night at home against the Mets.
"It could have been worse," Dickerson said. "I was up all night. I went to get breakfast and tried to walk around and came back and had a terrible headache. Other than that, I feel fine."
He said a CT scan showed a concussion, but no broken bones and "nothing serious."
"I was extremely fortunate," said Dickerson, who did not believe that Gonzalez was trying to hit him with the pitch.
"Absolutely not," Dickerson said. "He threw two great pitches to start off the at-bat. Great curves. If you're going to be (angry) and retaliate, you're going to do it on the first pitch."
Gonzalez stressed Wednesday night that he did not throw at Dickerson, and repeated that assertion on Thursday. The pitcher said he intended to apologize privately, and he approached Dickerson during batting practice to apparently do so.
After being struck by the pitch, Dickerson walked to first base and wanted to stay in the game. The Yankees forced him off the field, which turned out to be the right decision.
"Probably best to come out of game," Dickerson said. "I was so jacked up with adrenaline, trying to get my wits. Who knows what would have happened?"
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