Braves second baseman Dan Uggla was upset to hear that Nationals center fielder Denard Span was placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list Saturday after the two of them collided on the base paths Friday night.
The Nationals called up Steven Souza from Triple-A Syracuse and sent Span back to Washington for further evaluation.
“I’m guessing his head hit somewhere on my body,” Uggla said. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen a replay. I didn’t look. I know that he had a concussion a few years ago. I know those things (can easily) flare up.”
Uggla knew it had the potential to be serious after seeing Span go to the ground.
“I wanted to give him a hug,” Uggla said. “He’s a friend of mine.”
Uggla said he was on his way to cover first base after Span singled in the eighth inning when they collided.
“I was just trying not to get killed,” Uggla said. “He’s a big, strong human being….As soon as he rounded, and then I turned around, we were just right in each other’s paths. Then we locked eyes and we both kind of got big-eyed. We both went this way, and then we both went that way, and we met in the middle. It was just like ‘Oh man. He’s not slowing down. I’m not slowing down. I hope nobody gets hurt.’”
Uggla was called for obstruction on the play and Span was awarded second base. Span was able to pass concussion tests administered immediately on the field and stayed in for the remainder of the game. He grounded out to shortstop in the top of the 10th inning.
Span complained of a headache after the game and was examined by a Braves team physician. The Nationals decided to place him on the disabled list after he was examined again Saturday.
Span had suffered a concussion on June 3, 2011 when he was with the Twins. He collided at home plate with Royals catcher Brayan Pena, a former Brave. Span played only 70 games that season because of recurring problems.
