Luis Salazar returned to Atlanta Braves Spring Training in Lake Buena Vista today for the first time since the incident that eventually took his left eye two weeks ago.
Salazar arrived to camp upbeat and looking to the future. He said he expects to resume managing duties for A+ Lynchburg in April. He spent the past week at his home in Boca Raton, Fla., recovering from his multiple surgeries.
Salazar underwent two surgeries for facial fractures, followed by two eye surgeries, the second taking his left eye. This was caused by a line drive off the bat of Brian McCann that struck Salazar in the face, knocking him from the top step of the dugout to the ground below. He was unconscience around 20 minutes while medical personnel worked on providing oxygen. He was driven by ambulance off the field and eventually airlifted to the hospital in Orlando.
McCann took the incident pretty hard, as one would expect. He visited Salazar and his family several times after the injury, and the two spoke for three hours.
"Brian McCann is a very sensitive kid and he was worried about my health," Salazar said. "We talked for about three hours. I told him what happened could happen to anybody. I told him move on and forget the incident."
It's good to see Salazar in camp and upbeat about his future in the Braves organization.