Atlanta Braves fans anxious as outfielder Michael Harris II removed from game after tweaking back stealing second base: "That slide didn’t look good"
The Atlanta Braves celebrated their home opener on Thursday with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with the occasion. It was a jubilant evening, with the team hosting a fellow top National League contender in the San Diego Padres.
All was going well, and then center fielder Michael Harris II came up wincing after stealing second base in the second innings.
Harris made it through the remainder of the frame, but was replaced in center field by Sam Hilliard in the top of the third.
Braves fans in attendance, announcers on television, and supporters online held their collective breath awaiting word on the condition of the second-year budding superstar.
Then, the team tweeted out possibly the sweetest word that a fan could hear: "precaution."
OF Michael Harris II was removed from tonight’s game as a precaution with low back tightness.
Harris made his Atlanta Braves debut early in the 2022 season and immediately made an impact, hitting .297 with 19 home runs, 27 doubles, 20 stolen bases, and 64 RBI in 114 games en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
He has quickly ingrained himself as one of the fan favorites on a team that has locked up many of its young stars — including Harris himself — to long-term deals that run into the next decade.
@Braves Please be precautionary
Please be precautionary
Please be precautionary
Please be precautionary
🏽@Braves Good!! I appreciate the precaution. We need to keep him nice and healthy for the season. 🤞🏼🙏🏽
@Braves PLEASE BE OK FATHER MICHAEL I CANT GO ON WITHOUT YOU
The painful slide caught many fans off-guard, so news that he was taking a seat for the remainder of the contest did not catch them by surprise.
@Braves He looked like he slid very awkwardly
@Braves I knew that slide didn’t look good
Harris arguably hasn't had the hotttest of starts in his first full season with the Braves. He is hitting just .227 with one RBI and three runs scored in six games so far. However, Braves Nation knows what it has in Harris. More than a few Atlantans were offering up their own backs if it meant that their center fielder could live a healthy life.
@Braves He can have my back.
@Braves He can have my back
@Braves I’ll give him my back
Needless to say, there's a lot of hoping among Atlanta Braves fans Thursday night.
@Braves Hopefully just an awkward landing and nothing more. Hope to see him back before the homestand finishes.
@Braves God is not real
Atlanta Braves called up Harris from Double-A in 2022
Harris was the Braves' top prospect last season, but was ranked just No. 63 in all the minors. However, Atlanta called him up from Double-A Mississippi on May 28 after he hit .305 with five home runs, 33 RBI and 11 stolen bases in just 43 games over the first two months of the 2022 season.