David Dahl ‘trying not to worry about it too much’ - AL.com

Former Oak Mountain High School standout David Dahl was preparing for his new role as the Colorado Rockies’ leadoff hitter last week. Now Colorado’s center fielder is waiting for the return of baseball.

The Major Leagues canceled the rest of spring training and moved the start of the 2020 season back at least two weeks on Thursday. The decision came in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dahl is facing the COVID-19 crisis with a compromised immune system. He doesn’t have a spleen.

While playing center field for the New Britain Rock Cats in the Double-A Eastern League, Dahl collided with second baseman Juan Ciriaco while trying to catch a short fly on May 28, 2015. He sustained a lacerated spleen, and the organ was removed.

A person without a spleen is “more likely to contract serious or life-threatening infections” and “at increased risk of becoming sick,” according to the Mayo Clinic, and “may also have a harder time recovering from an illness or injury.”

“Me without a spleen,” Dahl told reporters last week, “… it’s a little tougher. But I’ve got all of my immunization shots, like the flu shot, all that kind of stuff that I need, so I’m good with that. I’m trying not to worry about it too much.”

Dahl sent a note via Twitter to fans of the Rockies, urging them to “be safe, healthy and smart.”

Dahl also wrote: “Waking up today, this still doesn’t feel real. As a baseball player, like many professions, our lives are all about structure. Every day, we wake up and go through the exact same routine to prepare ourselves and get ready to play this game for our city, our fans and our family. Like many of you, we are sitting and waiting to hear ‘What next?’ My heart goes out to all those affected by this virus and to those whose daily structure has been flipped upside down – whether it be your health, your livelihood, your meals or your family. We’re all in this together, and Jacquelyn and I are brainstorming ways to support where we can. In the meantime, we’ll share plenty of Rookie content and we’ll see y’all soon at Coors Field.”

Jacquelyn is Dahl’s wife. Rookie is their dog.

Chosen by the Rockies with the 10th selection in the MLB draft in 2012 after two All-State seasons at Oak Mountain, Dahl picked the pros over playing at Auburn.

Dahl made his MLB debut on July 25, 2016, and ran off a 17-game hitting streak, tied for the longest in history from the start of a career. But his entire 2017 season was wiped out by a stress reaction in his rib cage.

In 2018, Dahl broke his right foot fouling off a pitch, and the injury kept him out of the Colorado lineup in June and July. He returned to hit six home runs in the final eight games of the regular season to help the Rockies reach the playoffs.

National League players selected Dahl as an outfield reserve for the All-Star Game in 2019. Dahl singled and scored in his only at-bat in the annual Mid-Summer Classic, but less than a month later, he was out for the season because of a high ankle sprain sustained trying to make a catch in center field at Coors Field.

In 240 Major League games, Dahl has hit .297 with a .521 slugging percentage. He has 140 runs, 51 doubles, 12 triples, 38 home runs, 133 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and a .346 on-base average with the Rockies.

DAVID DAHL AIMING TO STAY ON FIELD DURING 2020 MLB SEASON

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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