Greenberg Gets 2nd MLB At-Bat 7 Years After Being Hit by Pitch

Adam Greenberg struck out in his second Major League Baseball plate appearance, seven years after his first at-bat ended with a fastball to the head.

Greenberg, 31, who signed a one-day contract with the Miami Marlins, was sent in last night to replace Bryan Petersen in the bottom of the sixth inning by manager Ozzie Guillen. He went down swinging when New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey delivered three knuckleballs.

“What greater way to go about it than to face a Cy Young candidate?” Greenberg said during a news conference before the game at Marlins Park in Miami.

Greenberg was hit by the first pitch he faced as a Chicago Cubs outfielder, a 92 mile-per-hour (148 kph) fastball thrown by Marlins lefthander Valerio De Los Santos on July 9, 2005. The concussion caused vision problems, headaches and vertigo for two years, ending his major league career.

“Life throws you curve balls,” Greenberg told reporters before the Marlins’ 4-3 win in 11 innings. “Mine threw me a fastball at 92, and it hit me in the back of the head. I got up from it and my life is great.”

Since the incident, Greenberg has played for Israel in the qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic. He also was married, started a health-supplement business and played in the independent Atlantic League.

“Hopefully there is going to be a lot more of this,” Greenberg said. “I want to show everyone I can play, although you can never really truly do that in one at-bat, especially if it ends up being against Dickey.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net