On Monday night, in their most recent game, the New York Yankees had a truly horrible occurrence. Outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera left with an injury, following an awkward, hard slide into home plate. Cabrera was running on contact, and he made it around to score the Yankees’ final run of the game on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly. Regrettably, the initiative resulted in a dangerous fall that necessitated an airlift to a trauma center.
Cabrera, 26, hails from Venezuela. He’s earned himself a reputation as a hard-nosed, regular player, mashing his way through his fourth season in Major League Baseball. This season, he’s batting .243 with one home run and 12 RBIs. And it’s for this unflinching devotion to the game and his teammates that he’s garnered unmatched respect from everyone surrounding him. His admiration is further clarified by Judge’s comments about Cabrera’s character.
Following the injury, Cabrera laid on the field for several minutes while medical personnel attended to his injury. The gravity of the situation was enough that Yankees manager Aaron Boone would later characterize it as “pretty serious.” After the incident, Cabrera was transported to a local hospital with team athletic trainer Tim Lentych.
In an emotional scene before he was wheeled away, Cabrera said to Judge, “Hey, did I score?” Judge tweeted this up close shot, showing just how much grit and concentration this player maintained even when racial slurs were being hurled at them.
“Right before he got carted off, he just called me over and said, ‘Hey, did I score?’” – Aaron Judge
Judge further emphasized Cabrera’s character, noting that despite the pain he was experiencing, Cabrera’s only concern was whether he had contributed to the team’s success.
“So, just kind of shows you what type of guy he is. Something like that happens and the one thing on his mind for all the pain and everything is, ‘Did I score?’” – Aaron Judge
And beyond the way he’s played on the field, Cabrera has earned the title of “the best of us” by his teammates. And whenever he showed up to the ballpark, he had that infectious smile and we all talked about how hard he played. He really loves his teammates — that makes him a guy you want in your clubhouse. Of course, his love for being a Yankee increases that admiration.