Life Can Be Cruel

I first saw Dustin Fowler in 2016 with the Yankees farm club in Trenton. His combination of speed, power and good defense put him on the fast track to the Bronx. With the rash of recent Yankee injuries -- along with a first half of the Triple A season with 40 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs -- he was the latest top prospect summoned from the minors.
Joe Girardi wasted no time to write his name in the lineup. Batting sixth and playing right field, he was on the field in Thursday night's rain-delayed game in Chicago. And then, in a flash, Fowler's season was over -- chasing down a fly ball, he crashed into a wall-mounted electrical box , suffering a devastating knee injury that left Girardi in tears and Fowler's career in jeopardy.
A ruptured patella tendon, the same injury that ruined Victor Cruz' career with the Football Giants, will take six months of recovery and rehab. And there's no guarantee that Fowler will have quite the same speed or mobility once he returns.
What a cruel twist of fate: the moment a young player dreams of, ending in an instant and placing his future under a cloud.
Tom Hanks, maybe you're wrong this time. Ballplayers and skippers can cry when a dream is crushed in the most unexpected manner.

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