There was a terrifying moment during Saturday’s Grapefruit League game when a player was dragged off the field as he tried to steal a home run.
In Fort Myers, the Boston Red Sox hosted the Washington Nationals for spring training, and Daylen Lyle was making his first appearance of the spring.
Lyle was playing right field for the Nationals when Tyler Miller crushed a fly ball to right-center field at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers.
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Daylen Lyle of the Washington Nationals is in the dugout during a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Merchant Stadium on March 8, 2023 in Lakeland, Florida. (Mark Cunningham/MLB Photo via Getty Images)
Miller’s blast went over the wall, but he wouldn’t have recorded an out if it wasn’t for a valiant effort by Lyle. The 21-year-old jumped up to take a solo shot from Miller, but Miller tipped it over the wall.
During David Ortiz’s famous game-clinching grand slam in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS, Lyle looked like Torii Hunter. The spring training park is a replica of Fenway, and the low right outfield wall tends to have that effect on outfielders trying to steal home runs.
However, the Red Sox relievers in the bullpen called for medical personnel almost immediately, and the situation quickly became serious.
Through a crack in the open outfield wall, Lyle could be seen rolling in the bullpen.
The game was delayed several minutes, and Lyle was placed on a stretcher with a neck brace on the caution track.
After the game, Nats manager Dave Martinez said Lyle was taken to the hospital for a CT scan of his lower back and had movement in his arms and legs. Lyle gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he left the field.
Grapefruit League game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox held at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida on March 12, 2023. (Madi Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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“If you didn’t see someone go over the wall like that and get up and everybody in the bullpen starts screaming like that, you’d be like, ‘Oh my god, that’s crazy,'” Martinez said. “I just hope he didn’t hit his head or his neck. All these things go through your mind.”
Lyle was selected by the Nats in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft and played in 19 games in rookie ball that year. He missed the entire 2022 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and split last year between Low-A and High-A ball.
Boston Red Sox spring training team practices at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 17, 2024 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Billy Weiss Getty Images)
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He hit .291 with an .891 OPS in 66 games in Low-A, but struggled to adapt to the next level. He hit .234/.310/.357 in 40 High-A games.
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