Those who witnessed the incident, either live or through online clips, reacted with shock when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller was struck in the head by a baseball traveling nearly 106 MPH during Thursday’s spring training opener. Fortunately, the young right-hander was able to walk off the mound unassisted.
Following the incident, Miller has reported experiencing mild symptoms, primarily “headaches and drowsiness.” Despite this, his return to game action for the Dodgers will be delayed. As he explained to reporters, he “got to pass some steps” before being cleared to resume baseball activities. The initial and most crucial step is for Miller to be completely symptom-free before beginning any workouts or returning to gameplay.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Latest Injury Update on Bobby Miller
“Bobby Miller says getting hit in the head by a line drive has ‘always kind of been one of my biggest fears. … Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,’” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported on Saturday.
Miller is among the contenders for the Dodgers’ fifth starting pitcher role as the season begins. However, entering spring training, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May were generally considered to be the frontrunners for that position.
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Miller has been working closely with new pitcher addition Blake Snell, as they have developed a close bond. Miller’s career was marked by a promising start, highlighted by a dominant debut where he struck out 11 batters over six scoreless innings. However, this early success proved fleeting. Plagued by injuries throughout 2024, Miller struggled to maintain consistency, ultimately finishing the season with an ERA of 8.52 and a WHIP of 1.77 going 2-4 over six starts. Snell has all the confidence in the world that Miller will find his 2023 form and is focused on the upcoming 2025 campaign.
“He’ll learn,” Snell said. “He’s such an amazing talent. I don’t ask him what he did last year because I don’t care. I think what he’s gonna do is way more important than what happened. Learn from it. Get better.”