José Álvarez takes a 105 mph line drive to the nuts, a breakdown
What Happened
Phillies reliever Jose Alvarez was on the mound during the shortened 2020 season when a batter ripped a 1-0 pitch back up the middle at 105 mph. The line drive caught Alvarez square in the groin. He somehow stayed upright long enough to make the play before crumpling to the ground in obvious pain. The training staff came out, Alvarez was carted off, and he later landed on the injured list with a testicular contusion.
Why This Matters
Pitchers finish their delivery in the worst possible position to defend a comebacker, standing flat-footed roughly 55 feet from the plate after releasing the ball. A 105 mph liner covers that distance in well under half a second, leaving no time to react. Alvarez gloving it cleanly while taking the hit where he did is genuinely absurd hand-eye coordination under duress. The aftermath was real: a cart, a trip to the hospital for testing, and an IL stint with a testicular contusion. He was one of Philadelphia's steadier bullpen arms in 2020, so losing him even briefly mattered in a 60-game sprint where every reliever counted. He returned within days and kept both testicles, which under the circumstances qualifies as a happy ending.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: José Álvarez. Teams: Phillies.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentjose alvarez on the bump pitching for
the phillies he's one of their better
relievers this season
looking good doesn't know what's about
to happen on this 1-0 pitch bam hotshot
105 miles per hour right
to the dick slash nuts he made the play
and that's awesome but now he's on the
ground writhing in
pain because he took a 105 mile per hour
line drive
to the junk tells the trainer yeah hit
me right in the nuts man trainer looks
down there he says okay well
i can't really touch that right now uh
so
just okay um um i i got nothing for you
let's just bring the card out and get
you off the field seems like you're in a
lot of pain
joe gerardi looking on thinking i got
nuts damn what could happen to me
oh no this is the replay you don't want
to watch did you guys miss it
oh don't watch it how'd it get through
that
gap glove is there arm's there
right through damn
so impressive that he hung in there and
made the play
and then yeah probably the most amount
of pain he's on the ill right now
with a testicular contusion so that's a
google image search
for the bold don't do it
he did say he's okay they sent him for
testing they put him on the cart
he said it was pretty bad
obviously it hit me in my private parts
it's a pain
that's hard to describe but thank god
i'm feeling much better now
everything was good in the hospital
nothing bad
it's nothing that bad because you did
take it to the nut student had to go to
hospital it's pretty bad
hopefully i'll be good in a couple days
so he gets to keep
both of his testicles which is huge
unfortunately we got a fan of the
breakdowns that just had to part ways
with his
right testicle so shout out the righty
remembrance society testicular cancer
took his right nut at testicular cancer
foundation
at testicular cancer feel your nuts
check for lumps and try not to get hit
with the projectile at 105
miles per hour because that seems like a
bad time alvarez is doing good though
so is our boy i think thinking of you