Braves’ Salazar Returns To Camp After Losing Eye

KISSIMMEE, FL – Atlanta Braves minor-league manager Luis Salazar has returned to camp, two weeks after being struck in the face by a foul ball and losing his left eye.

Salazar was standing on the top step of the dugout when he was struck by Brian McCann’s line drive during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 9. He was knocked unconscious and airlifted to the hospital.

Salazar says that he’s “very fortunate to be alive.” He hopes to join his Class A Lynchburg team in April for the start of the Carolina League season.

He says “God gave me a second chance in this life and I’m going to take advantage of it.” Doctors could not save Salazar’s eye and it was removed on March 15. After a week in an Orlando hospital, he spent a week at his
home in Boca Raton, Fla.