Her recovery is a home run!
The father of a 2-year-old girl blasted in the face by a screaming line drive at Yankee Stadium three years ago told The Post his daughter’s recuperation is “nothing short of a miracle.”
“An inch up or down, left or right and things could be completely different,” a grateful Geoffrey Jacobson told The Post in a series of e-mails. “At this point she gets to live like a normal 4-year-old. There are no more eye patches, no more restrictions. Just periodic doctor appointment checkups.”
In the future, the girl might have to have surgery on her orbital socket or nose and still goes to the eye doctor and neurologist every six months, but “her short term injuries are healed,” Jacobson said.
The 42-year-old New Jersey lawyer agreed to speak on the condition that his daughter’s name and other personal information be withheld.
The transformation is extraordinary following the shocking events of Sept. 20, 2017, when his little girl was struck by a 105-mph foul ball off the bat of then Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier during an afternoon game against the Minnesota Twins.
The baseball hit the middle of the girl’s forehead and the bridge of her nose, leaving blood everywhere. The game was delayed for nearly four minutes as the toddler was carried from the stands and taken to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital.
Frazier immediately put his hand to his mouth and went to one knee, and other players were visibly shaken by the injury.
The little girl was placed in a neck brace and suffered skull fractures and bleeding on the brain. Both her eyes were severely swollen shut and she had the stitching of the baseball cut into her forehead. Jacobson has said his daughter’s six days in the ICU hooked up to machines “were the longest days of our lives.”
The stunning episode generated national headlines and in February 2018, MLB announced that all 30 teams would have protective netting extended to at least the far ends of both dugouts.
Jacobson said it wasn’t enough, that “every team should extend to the foul poles. MLB has enough data to know how dangerous foul balls are.”
He said he’s seen replays of his daughter getting injured a few times and it’s incredibly difficult to watch.
“In reality, as a baseball fan, I’ve seen it a hundred times. You’re watching a game, a screamer goes into the stands, the announcers say ‘look out’ and then wish the injured party the best. Then they go back to the 2-2 count. Unfortunately, the veil has been lifted and I know while everyone else goes back to watching the game, lives are changed forever.”
In 2018, Jacobson gathered the courage to sit in the Legends seats at Yankee Stadium where his daughter was injured.
“They are protected by nets now. My perspective on baseball is different now, I spend more time looking at foul balls than ones in the field of play. It’s much more nerve-racking,” he confessed.
Jacobson, who has not filed a lawsuit in connection with the incident, said “it will be a long while before I take my children to a baseball game. Eventually the time will be right and we will make sure we are behind protective netting.”
Most recently, Jacobson was among a group of who went to Washington, DC, and met with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin to discuss fan safety.
As for how the family marks each September 20?
“We’ve gone about our day for the most part, but my wife and I probably hug our children a little bit longer, a little bit tighter.”
Jacobson said his recovering daughter “rarely” speaks about the incident, but “eventually, she will have an adult’s perspective on everything that happened. One day she may write a college essay about it.”
These days, the 4-year-old takes ballet, tap and swim lessons and “sings ‘Frozen II’ songs almost non-stop,” Jacobson said, adding, “Much to our dismay she is completely fearless and will spend hours riding her scooter too fast, playing on swing sets and jumping off our couches like she is Evel Knievel.”
Jacobson made sure to thank everyone for their support: “It was a terrible time for our family but all the prayers and kind words we received made all the difference.”