Orioles manager Craig Albernaz returns — with a broken jaw — a day after being hit by a foul ball
BALTIMORE (AP) — With a big bruise on the right side of his face and several fractures, Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was back at the ballpark a day after being hit by a foul ball in the dugout. “I can't blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,” he said. “If I blow my nose it's going to go up into my eye.
” Albernaz said he has over a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he was relieved to avoid surgery and said he doesn't need his jaw wired. Albernaz joked he might grab a Ravens helmet from his desk to wear in the dugout. Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore's manager, was in the part of the dugout closest to the on-deck circle when Jeremiah Jackson's foul ball struck him in the fifth inning Monday night.
He returned to the dugout an inning later when Jackson hit a grand slam, but he ultimately ended up listening to the game on the radio en route to a hospital, where he says he remained until about midnight. “I was trying to get back out there after my concussion protocol was fine, but they wanted me to get a CT scan,” Albernaz said. “I was trying to get it after the game, but obviously the medical team has better judgment than I do.
” He was back in the dugout Tuesday, but the healing process could take time. “Six weeks of soft foods,” Albernaz said. “Can't do anything strenuous.
” Including argue with umpires? “Medically speaking, yeah I probably shouldn't,” he said. “I think everything gets thrown out the window when that first pitch happens.