MLB Star Hospitalized with ‘Shortness of Breath’

“Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez felt ill on the field, exited abruptly and was transported to a local hospital during the Friday night game against the Braves in Atlanta,” ESPN reported.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Alvarez had shortness of breath.

Smoke in the air from fireworks shot off at Truist Park is being blamed for exacerbating Alvarez’s breathing difficulties.

“Alvarez was released from the hospital Friday night and all tests performed came back normal,” the outlet added.

“He was at the ballpark Saturday and will undergo further evaluation.”

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was held out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Braves after being taken to a hospital the previous night because of shortness of breath. https://t.co/1SRPgZa988

— Chron (@chron) August 20, 2022

OF Yordan Alvarez was released from the hospital last night. After his evaluation at the hospital, all tests came back normal. He is at the ballpark today and will undergo further evaluation.

— Houston Astros (@astros) August 20, 2022

Yordan Alvarez is following concussion-like protocol as a precautionary measure by the @astros, and is expected to return as a DH tomorrow.@Ken_Rosenthal has more on his return: pic.twitter.com/65vm00tkdU

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 20, 2022

From ESPN:

Alvarez departed the Friday night game under his own power with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. There was a pause in the action when Braves rookie Vaughn Grissom fouled a ball off his foot and was being tended to by an athletic trainer.

That’s when Alvarez, who is batting .295 with 31 homers and 77 RBIs, made his break for the Houston dugout.

“I’m glad we got him out when we did,” Baker said Friday night. “I looked up and he was in the dugout. It was kind of a scary moment. It could be anything. They said he’s doing fine at the moment.”

Baker said no one in the Astros’ dugout knew Alvarez, an American League All-Star this year and the 2019 Rookie of the Year, was in any distress.

“We didn’t see anything,” Baker said. “I just looked up in the dugout and he was there. After that we had to take it into emergency action to find out what’s wrong and then the emergency crew came over and took him to the hospital.”

Chron added:

Baker said Alvarez could return to the lineup for the finale of the three-game series Sunday.

“He’s better,” Baker said. “We’ve still got to watch him. He’s under what’s similar to a concussion protocol, where you’ve got to watch him. You don’t want him to maybe fall out. They couldn’t find anything, but that doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong.”

Baker called it a frightening situation, but added he was somewhat relieved that one of the game’s most feared hitters was apparently not stricken with a serious medical problem.

“We’re just going to wait today,” the manager added. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow. He’ll probably DH if he’s feeling all right.”

Alvarez is batting .295 with 31 homers and 77 RBIs for the AL West-leading Astros, who are seeking their fourth World Series appearance in six years.