We finally got a chance to speak with him for the first time since he broke his leg in that B game with the Brewers back on March 2. He was in a great mood and said he has been told he has a chance to return just after the All-Star break. They put a rod in his leg that will stay there permanently. Just as we suspected, he said he was caught in a moment of indecision between sliding and coming in standing up. He also said he didn’t see an on-deck hitter telling him whether to slide or not. Joe Torre told us at the time that Juan Pierre, the on-deck hitter, was yelling for DeJesus to slide. But apparently DeJesus didn’t see him or couldn’t hear him. The usual procedure is for the on-deck hitter to stand directly behind the plate, on a line with the third-base line, so he is in full view of the hitter. Anyway, we asked DeJesus how he was feeling emotionally.
“Better,” he said. “The first two weeks, I was a little bit down. But now, I’m feeling better because everything is going well. I know people said I would be out the whole season, but that was wrong. I think I’ll be back to doing baseball stuff by May and then be back on the field (in games) after the All-Star break.”
He also said he doesn’t think the missed time will set back his development at all.
DeJesus will be on the field just before game time to receive, for the second year in a row, the Dodgers’ Minor League Player of the Year award for last season. James McDonald will get Pitcher of the Year, and catching prospect Tony Delmonico, last year’s sixth-round draft pick, will get the Rookie of the Year award.