Guy Spina, the longtime Sox employee now working as the press dining room attendant, had a flashback last night as he watched Mike Lowell lying face down in the dirt at home plate.
``I remembered another No. 25 lying there, number up," said Spina, shuddering at the memory of another Friday night in August, when Tony Conigliaro was struck in the head by a fastball from Jack Hamilton of the Angels Aug. 18, 1967. ``That's the picture that stuck with me."
Fortunately for Lowell, the fastball from Orioles rookie lefthander Adam Loewen that sent him sprawling in the first inning, the ball ricocheting to the mound, caught the side of Lowell's helmet instead of flush in the face, as Hamilton's pitch did to Tony C. After a few seconds in which he persuaded trainer Paul Lessard he was aware of place and time, and even joked with manager Terry Francona (``He said, `Are you OK?' and I said, `I'm fine, Frank' ") as he made his way toward first base, Lowell not only remained in the game but delivered the kind of inspiring performance they'll be talking about for some time at the Fens.
The highlight? Just two innings after being beaned, Lowell took a header into the stands in Jeteresque fashion to collar Nick Markakis's foul pop, holding onto the ball even as he wound up on his back. He also lined an RBI single off the Monster and stole third with a headfirst slide during a seven-run third inning that shot the Sox to a 9-2 victory, making the team's five-game losing streak seem like a distant memory.
``I figured since my head hurt, maybe I could ruin my legs, and since my feet hurt, I'd try to get the middle of my body just to make it a whole thing," Lowell said of paying little heed to life and limb, especially in tracking down Markakis's ball. ``I actually thought I had one more step on that play. I'm just grateful there was padding over there. I hit [the wall] a little quicker than I thought I would."
Lowell, in another poignant twist, is a former recipient of the Tony Conigliaro Award, which is awarded to a player for courage and perseverance, qualities Lowell displayed in his comeback from testicular cancer.
``I was aware of it, I knew the history behind it, but I really didn't want to repeat it," Lowell said of the Conigliaro beaning. ``I feel like my head is lopsided. I never was dizzy, though. I don't really have a splitting headache. I just feel like I've got a big bump on the side of my head."
