It’s been less than a month since New York Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar took a fastball right to the face, suffering nasal fractures. And he’s already back in the Mets lineup.
That in itself is pretty incredible and speaks volumes to Pillar’s toughness. The day following the scary hit by pitch, he even joked about wanting to be in the lineup.
But no, Pillar was not out there during Wednesday’s game in Baltimore hitting a pair of home runs with the same, blood-covered bat from that hit by pitch against the Braves.
A few tweets gained traction on Wednesday night that complimented Pillar’s toughness while pointing out that his bat appeared to be covered with blood. That led to speculation that Pillar was using the same bat.
Did @KPILLAR4 really go yard TWICE last night using the bat from when he got drilled in the face?? #LGM pic.twitter.com/gq66eNa0gv
— We Gotta Believe Podcast (@GottaBelievePod) June 10, 2021
It really does look like blood. But a look at the photos showed that Pillar was using two entirely different brands of bats between his hit by pitch and Wednesday’s game.
When he got hit, he was using a black Marucci bat. Notice the logo:
On Wednesday, he was using a gray-shaded Warstic, which features a two-stripe logo where the handle and barrel meet.
And then, Pillar himself corrected the record and tweeted that he was just using pine tar. It wasn’t blood.
I appreciate the compliment but have to confirm that it is not true. Just pine tar stick https://t.co/DTEVZmgZIZ
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) June 10, 2021
There’s no denying that Pillar hitting two dingers with a blood-soaked bat would have been epic. But that clearly wasn’t the case here. It’s still incredible that he’s already back in the lineup and making an impact for the Mets, though.
https://youtu.be/pzN93qXVXBc