CINCINNATI \u2014 Chicago Cubs rookie Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros said he felt fine after taking a 105-mph line drive off the helmet in Thursday\u2019s game against the Cincinnati Reds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the ball hit my helmet, I felt a little bit nervous,\u201d Ballesteros said after the Cubs\u2019 1-0 loss to the Reds. \u201cBut after the trainer checked me, he told me I\u2019m good. I feel really good right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballesteros, 21, was on first base with two outs in the fifth inning when Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a line drive toward left field. Reds first baseman Spencer Steer made a diving attempt at the ball, but it deflected off his glove and struck Ballesteros\u2019 helmet.<\/p>\n
\nMois\u00e9s Ballesteros appears to be okay after getting hit in the helmet by this line drive<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcfa: FOX pic.twitter.com\/sCW070SJ0S<\/p>\n
\u2014 FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 19, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ballesteros stood in place for a moment before starting to run toward second. The ball went into center field, where Reds\u2019 center fielder TJ Friedl charged toward it and threw it to second, where Elly De La Cruz was covering the bag and forced Ballesteros to end the inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, you\u2019re worried about: Is Mois\u00e9s all right? Because Pete hit that ball pretty hard,\u201d Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cI think Mois\u00e9s got caught behind the fielder a little bit. Not caught \u2014 it\u2019s just the nature of the play and the ball\u2019s hit really hard. \u2026 He\u2019s OK, but it was a scary play, absolutely. That he had the presence to run to second was pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before his own baseball career, Reds manager Terry Francona grew up following his dad, Tito Francona, around in the big leagues and has been a major-league manager for 25 seasons. Few people have seen more baseball games than Francona, and this was a new one, even for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen that \u2014 ever,\u201d Francona said. \u201cAnd the kid stayed in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballesteros, the team\u2019s designated hitter on Thursday, had one more at-bat, striking out looking in the seventh inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fine,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI think it just scared him and shook him a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
In right field, the Reds\u2019 Will Benson said he thought he heard the sound of the ball hitting Steer\u2019s glove before hearing the ball hit Ballesteros\u2019 helmet. After that, he lost track of the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was smoked,\u201d Benson said. \u201cI\u2019m so glad it hit his helmet and not his actual head, because I don\u2019t think he\u2019d still be out there playing. That\u2019s a blessing. I\u2019m glad he\u2019s OK. \u2026 A ball hit 105, if it hits you wrong, it could have been really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friedl said he wasn\u2019t sure what was happening, but saw the ball come into center field, so he ran toward it and noticed he had a play at second base. According to Friedl, he thought it hit off Ballesteros\u2019 helmet first and was a dead ball. Had it not hit Steer\u2019s glove first, it would\u2019ve been ruled a single for Crow-Armstrong \u2014 breaking up Hunter Greene\u2019s no-hit bid \u2014 and an out, ending the inning. Instead, it was a fielder\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always finish the play,\u201d Friedl said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re taught when you\u2019re young, right? That\u2019s the example of it. First off all, you hope he\u2019s OK, but then I saw him running and I had to throw the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greene had retired the first 12 batters he faced in order before Ballesteros reached on an error by Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Greene got a pop-up and a strikeout before facing Crow-Armstrong for the second time. The force at second ended the fifth inning, and Ballesteros walked off the field with a team trainer.<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the fifth, the Fox broadcast showed Ballesteros in the dugout reenacting the play, and he appeared to be joking about the incident with teammates.<\/p>\n
\nMois\u00e9s Ballesteros is re-enacting the moment in the dugout \ud83d\ude06<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcfa: FOX pic.twitter.com\/jimOV05xFt<\/p>\n
\u2014 FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 19, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Cubs managed just one hit on the night, a double by Seiya Suzuki with two outs in the seventh inning after Ballesteros struck out.<\/p>\n
(Photo: Dylan Buell \/ Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhen the ball hit my helmet, I felt a little bit nervous,\u201d Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros said after the Cubs\u2019 1-0 loss to the Reds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":95159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,284,44],"class_list":["post-95158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n
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