New York Yankees player Oswaldo Cabrera was taken off the field in an ambulance on Monday, May 12, after suffering a graphic injury to his leg at home plate.
Cabrera, 26, was attempting to tag up on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly to right field during the 9th inning of the team’s game against the Seattle Mariners at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
With right fielder Leody Taveras’ throw on the way, Cabrera attempted to run wide to avoid catcher Cal Raleigh’s tag. In doing so, Cabrera overran home plate, causing him to attempt an abrupt stop.
Cabrera’s left ankle buckled underneath him in a gnarly scene. Though Cabrera was actually able to successfully tag home plate and score, he remained on the ground in obvious pain.
An ambulance eventually made its way to Cabrera, where the training staff placed a brace on his leg and hoisted him into the vehicle on a stretcher. Cabrera was taken to a local hospital with athletic trainer Tim Lentych.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone relayed a conversation Cabrera had with Yankees star Judge before leaving the field.
“Before he got on [the gurney], he said, ‘Judgy, did I score?’ and Judge said, ‘Yeah,’” Boone told reporters. “That made him smile.”
The Yankees defeated the Mariners 11-5.
“I think everyone understands it was a pretty serious situation,” Boone, 52, said of Cabrera’s injury. “Just praying for our guy Cabby tonight and hoping for the best, and trusting he’s in good hands as he goes through the night here. Obviously, a great game in a lot of ways, but a lot of guys feeling for their teammate, who is the best of the best of them.”
Judge, 33, said that Cabrera making sure he scored a run even under dire circumstances “speaks tons to what type of guy he is.”
“It’s a game where we’ve got a little bit of a lead, and he’s still fighting to the very last out,” Judge continued. “Everyone in here feels terrible, just because we know how much he works, how hard he works, how much he loves and cares about everybody in this room, the way he would treat every game, and every day he got to be here as such a blessing.”
The Yankees have not provided an update on Cabrera’s condition, but they were “sending all of our love” to him in a post made via Instagram on Monday night.
