CHICAGO (AP) — Danny Farquhar joked around with fellow reliever Nate Jones. He handed out hugs to excited teammates. He even talked hopefully about throwing live batting practice soon.
By all accounts, Farquhar seemed like, well, Farquhar, and that was a relief for the Chicago White Sox.
Accompanied by his wife, Lexie, the reliever visited the team Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field for the first time since he collapsed in the dugout with a brain hemorrhage during a game in Chicago last month.
“Where he’s at, he’s a walking miracle,” said Jones, wearing a PRAY FOR 43 t-shirt — Farquhar has worn No. 43 with the White Sox this season.
The 31-year-old Farquhar spent about an hour at the ballpark before Chicago hosted Pittsburgh, and he reveled in being around his teammates again.
“He looks great, man. He looks amazing,” pitcher James Shields said. “To go through what he did and to see him look how he does was an amazing feeling for us in the clubhouse, and I’m sure it was for him.”
Farquhar’s brain hemorrhage was caused by a ruptured aneurysm during Chicago’s 10-0 loss to Houston on April 20. He was released from the hospital Monday.
Farquhar, who has three children, has been ruled out for the rest of the season, but neurosurgeon Dr. Demetrius Lopes thinks he will be able to play again at some point.
“He’s a fighter who wants to be back with us and wants to be back with the team,” said Jones, who also visited Farquhar in the hospital. “But we told him ‘Hey man, look how fresh your arm is going to be next year.’ He was down a little bit, but he’s excited he gets to return next year.”
Farquhar’s potentially life-threatening episode sparked an outpouring of support from all over the sport. The right-hander has made 253 appearances with Toronto, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Chicago since breaking into the majors with the Blue Jays in 2011, and several former teammates reached out to the White Sox to check on his progress. Former teammates and current Twins players Jake Odorizzi and Logan Morrison even visited Farquhar at the hospital during a series last week.
Jones said Farquhar had set a goal of leaving the hospital Monday and visiting the clubhouse Tuesday. No one was surprised to see him checking things off his list in the recovery process so quickly.
“You can’t place a limit on the size of a man’s heart, and he has a lot of drive and we’re just glad that he’s out of the hospital now and recovering well,” manager Rick Renteria said. “He still has to take it easy for a couple more weeks, just monitor himself, but I wouldn’t put anything past Danny in terms of what he may or may not be able to do.”
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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap
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