Giancarlo Stanton took a fastball to the head last Thursday, and it ended up embedding a tooth in his cheek while tearing a hole in his face. If you think the description sounds awful, then you probably should stop right now and not stare directly at the photo that Stanton released on his Instagram on Tuesday.
Still with us? Stanton did something of a before and after setup to show off his progress -- his face is still all swollen and healing, but when compared to what it looked like last week, you can't deny he's healing rapidly.
One side of his face is still twice as large as the other, but the hole in his face -- yes, hole -- doesn't look like a hole anymore, and his nose is almost normal again!
Maybe he will end up coming back before the season is over, as he hoped to do when asked about it the day after getting brained by a Mike Fiers fastball. Even if you're not a Stanton or Marlins fan, it's hard not to hope that's the case.