PHOENIX — After suffering eight consecutive losses and then absorbing a line drive off the back of his head, John Danks’ luck might be starting to even out.
“It’s a focus of mine to be the same guy,” Danks said Sunday, one day after he won his third consecutive start and was hit by a line shot off the bat of Stephen Drew. “I don’t want to be that guy who gets labeled as fun and having a good time whenever he’s going well, and pouts when he’s going badly. That’s not how I was raised. I think that was kind of the biggest key for me. I didn’t let myself get too far down, but at the same time, it was tough.”
Not as tough as the shot he took off the head. A CT scan showed Danks’ head suffered no serious damage, and he underwent follow-up tests, such as the checking of his blood pressure, to ensure that he was fine.
“I told (the doctors) you can’t hurt nothing,” Danks joked. “I’m good.”
Danks slept Saturday night with ice applied to his head, and the swelling had subsided.
“I woke up a couple of times because I was lying on my arm funny,” Danks said. “Other than that, I didn’t have a headache or anything.”
This wasn’t the first time Danks had been struck on the head by a line drive.
“Actually in Double A, I got hit in the head, and the third baseman caught it for the out,” Danks said. “I didn’t get hit as solid as I did (Saturday) night.”
And Danks made sure to call his mother, Renee, who was worried.
“She’s finally calmed down,” he said. “She’s concerned. She’s a mom.”
Save up to 40% on Chicago White Sox gifts
