During Saturday night’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal matchup between Team USA and Venezuela, Jose Altuve went down with a broken thumb after being hit by a pitch from Daniel Bard.
For both Altuve and Bard, it was a worst fear realized.
While most of the attention has been on Altuve, Bard was left emotionally wounded from the incident. On Sunday, the veteran reliever told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he felt “terrible” about injuring Altuve, saying that he intended to induce a double-play with the pitch and simply missed his spot.
“I was going sinker-in for a swing. I missed up and in,” Bard said. “You just hate to see it. You saw my reaction.”
Bard’s command had begun to betray him before hitting Altuve. Searching for an out with two runners on base, one got away from Bard. When his pitch made contact with Altuve’s right hand, Bard was visibly upset as he paced the mound.
Teammates in the World Baseball Classic with current Astros Ryan Pressly and Kyle Tucker, Bard plans to get Altuve’s number in hopes of reaching out to apologize.
“You want to see great players on the field, even if I have to play against him,” Bard said. “I want to play against the best. I wish him, hopefully, a quick recovery. I know it will be a minute.”
According to the Astros, Altuve will have surgery to repair the fracture in his right thumb in the coming days. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Altuve will likely miss at least two months of action rehabbing.
