DeShields Hit in Face With a Flying Bat : Dodgers: He suffers broken cheekbone, but is expected to be able to play with a protective mask.

In a chilling moment Wednesday, Delino DeShields suffered a fractured cheekbone when a loose bat struck him on the side of the face as he stood near a batting cage. DeShields, the Dodgers’ new second baseman, was taken by ambulance to Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, where he was examined and released.

DeShields, who will undergo outpatient surgery next week, can return to spring training drills as soon as he feels able. But Frank Jobe, Dodger team physician, said DeShields should avoid playing in a game until a plastic mask can be made to protect him as he heals. The mask, similar to one worn by Robby Thompson last season after he was hit by a pitch, will be available in about a week. The Dodgers open the exhibition season Friday.

“I’m fine, I’m living and I’m all right,” DeShields said before asking that reporters wait a day to talk to him.

The incident occurred in the indoor batting cages when a bat swung by Mike Busch slipped out of his hands, crashed against the floor-to-ceiling netting and hit DeShields, who was standing outside the cage in an area where coaches and players often gather. The netting, which is not taut, easily gave with the force of the bat.

The players were hitting in the cage Wednesday because of heavy rain.

The bat hit DeShields on the left side of his face, below his eye, cutting him in two places. Paramedics and trainers were summoned as a shaken Busch, a Dodger minor-leaguer, knelt nearby.

“It was bad--if it hits him on the temple, he could have been killed,” Brett Butler said.

As news spread throughout the clubhouse, players ran to the batting cages to see if DeShields was OK.

DeShields remained conscious as he was tended to for about 25 minutes before being taken to the hospital, accompanied by trainer Charlie Strasser and Jobe’s assistant, Dr. Pat McMann.

“I was with him the whole time until he got into the ambulance,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “He seemed like he was in a great deal of pain. His eyes were all watery. I thought it was really something serious.”

Jobe called DeShields “very fortunate,” saying the fracture will not require pinning, as Alfredo Griffin’s did in 1991 after he suffered a broken cheekbone when he slid into Barry Larkin’s knee. Griffin wore a plastic mask and missed about three weeks.

“It’s not as bad of a fracture as Alfredo Griffin’s was, and that is encouraging,” Jobe said.

After DeShields had gone, Busch returned to the clubhouse and sat alone at his locker, staring. Players left him alone, except to tell him it wasn’t his fault. Later, Busch said he was OK. “It was unfortunate,” he said.