The emotional ache was far worse than the bodily ache for Anthony Banda, the Dodgers reliever who suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand when he hit what supervisor Dave Roberts referred to as a “solid object” together with his pitching hand in frustration after giving up two runs in a Sept. 9 sport towards the Chicago Cubs.
“It was very embarrassing, very shameful,” mentioned Banda, a mid-Might acquisition from the Cleveland Guardians who had carved out a better leverage position by going 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 46 video games earlier than happening the 15-day injured checklist. “I really felt like I let everybody down.”
As sheepish as Banda felt in regards to the incident, he needed to make an vital clarification.
“I didn’t punch anything,” Banda, 31, mentioned. “I hit the outside of my fist against a paper towel dispenser out of frustration, and apparently, I hit the weakest bone just right, to where it fractured.
“I’m not saying that’s OK to do, but it’s not as bad as what people thought as far as me punching something straight on. I don’t do that with anything, because there’s a risk. I look at it as more of a freak accident, but yes, it was a learning experience.”
As soon as the swelling within the hand subsided, Banda was in a position to resume enjoying catch 4 days after struggling the harm. He threw his first bullpen session Thursday and adopted that with a 30-pitch bullpen exercise earlier than Saturday night time’s sport towards Colorado during which his fastball was clocked between 94-96 mph and his slider was sharp.
Banda is scheduled to throw reside batting follow on Monday, and Roberts mentioned he expects Banda to be activated when he’s eligible to return off the IL both Wednesday or Thursday.
“The most frustrating thing is this entire time, I didn’t have any pain or soreness, just some swelling in the hand,” Banda mentioned. “But the fact that it’s responding well and I haven’t lost any ability to spin my pitches or add velocity is a huge plus. It was a big scare, but at the end of the day, when I get active, I want to put it behind me and do everything I can to help this team.”
A part of the therapeutic course of was apologizing to his bullpen mates.
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“They understand the frustration and emotion part of it,” Banda mentioned. “They obviously weren’t pleased with the result of what happened, but they were supportive. They had my back. A lot of them were texting me throughout the week, on the road trip, asking me how I was doing. That in itself shows a lot. I know they’re eager to get me back.”
One other different a part of the therapeutic course of was proudly owning the error and studying from it.
“It’s a very competitive game, and this won’t be the last time I blow up, but I have to understand that the consequences are real, that anything can happen in those weak moments, and those are things that will potentially haunt me for the rest of my career.
“I’m a human being, I make mistakes, and this was a costly one. I’m not looking for sympathy — this was on me, and I’ve owned it. We all do stupid things, and I hate the idea that I did this to myself, but as long as we learn from them we can move on.”
Banda, who has two saves, 50 strikeouts and 18 walks in 47 ⅓ innings, offers the Dodgers a second left-hander along with Alex Vesia, and he may play a vital postseason position for a bullpen that may probably carry heavy workload in help of the workforce’s injury-ravaged rotation.
“This is something that we all play for — to be in a Dodgers uniform and playing in the playoffs is special,” mentioned Banda, who has not pitched in a postseason sport. “So I’m just ready to be back. Man, I’m driving myself crazy. My family is getting fed up with my hard-headedness. The training staff is. Everybody is. I’m just ready to get back.”
