Adam Greenberg (baseball) - Chicago Cubs (2005)

Chicago Cubs (2005)

"The first thing going through your mind is, 'This guy's dead,'"

— Valerio de los Santos, after hitting Greenberg in the head with a fastball

On July 7, 2005, Greenberg, was called up to the Cubs' major league team from their West Tennessee Double-A affiliate. Until 2012, his Major League career had consisted of the single plate appearance he made in his debut. Pinch hitting in the ninth inning against the Florida Marlins, in an ESPN Sunday night game on July 9, Greenberg was hit directly in the back of his head by a 92mph fastball on the very first pitch from Valerio de los Santos. Greenberg suffered a mild concussion as a result of the beaning, and was immediately removed from the game. Carlos Zambrano was sent in to pinch-run for Greenberg, and eventually came around to score the Cubs' fifth run in an 8–2 victory.

After a few weeks of rehab he returned to West Tennessee with the intention of rejoining the big-league organization shortly. A couple of games at the Double-A level made Greenberg realize that the effects of the pitch had not yet faded.

"Just bending over to tie my shoe left me with headaches for hours," he said. For weeks, Greenberg slept upright, the only way to tolerate the excruciating headaches. He spent the rest of the 2005 season on the 15-day disabled list, and still suffers from positional vertigo.