Durham Bulls pitcher injured by line drive details his recovery and offers thanks

Fourteen days after paramedics rushed him out of Durham Bulls Athletic Park and into the hospital, Bulls pitcher Tyler Zombro wrote Thursday that he was “very fortunate” and “one lucky guy” in a string of Twitter posts in which he provided updates about his recovery.

Zombro, 26, was pitching for the Bulls on June 3 against the Norfolk Tides when a line drive hit him in the head in the eighth inning. He fell to the mound and convulsed while medical personnel attended to him. He was loaded onto a stretcher while several other players appeared visibly shaken.

The game was stopped, and an update the next morning from the Tampa Bay Rays, the Bulls’ Major League affiliate, said Zombro was in stable condition. The Twitter posts, which Zombro shared on Thursday, offered his first public comments since his injury.

“Unbelievably grateful to be in the situation I’m currently in with the incredible help from @DukeHospital & staff,” Zombro wrote in the first of four posts. “To all of you that have showered my family and I with positive thoughts, I have no doubt that all of the prayer support kept God with me throughout that night.”

In the first post, Zombro shared an image of a long scar, in the early stages of healing, on the right side of his head. His hair had been shaved to allow for surgery, and an incision began near his ear, followed the curve of his head and ended at the front of his hairline.

Thank you again to the entire baseball community for the support, I’m one lucky guy and can’t wait to get back out there (whenever that is)! God Bless you all! #BULLieve pic.twitter.com/NMlsyK8Q34

— Tyler Zombro (@T_Zombro24) June 17, 2021

In another post, Zombro shared a short video of himself slowly walking down a hallway with the help of two members of his medical team. In the video, Zombro’s steps are deliberate, the person on his left helping him along.

“I’ve never been the fastest on the field so I may have gotten a boost after this surgery,” Zombro wrote, flashing a sense of humor.

Zombro was released from Duke University Hospital on June 9. He and his family have remained in Durham for outpatient occupational and speech therapy, according to the Rays.

In the final post of his Twitter thread on Thursday, Zombro shared a photo of himself smiling in a hospital bed, and making the Durham Bulls’ sign with his hands. He offered his appreciation for well-wishes he has received in the past two weeks, since his life changed in an instant.

Zombro, a Staunton, Virginia, native who played college baseball at George Mason from 2014-17, was in his second stint with the Bulls. He played four games with Durham in 2019, and began the season there this year, just one step below the Major Leagues.

“Thank you again to the entire baseball community for the support,” he wrote. “I’m one lucky guy and can’t wait to get back out there (whenever that is)! God Bless you all! #BULLieve.”