Flashback: Red Sox's Conigliaro tragically hit in face by fastball

One of the scariest moments in baseball history happened on this date, Aug. 18, in 1967.

Boston Red Sox right fielder Tony Conigliaro, the Revere, Mass., native who was hitting .287 with 20 homers and 67 RBI, was struck in the face by a fastball from California Angels right-hander Jack Hamilton. Conigliaro suffered a damaged retina in his left eye, a fractured left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw.

Conigliaro missed the entire 1968 season before returning in 1969 —€“ hitting .255 with 20 homers and 82 RBI. He followed that up with a 36-homer, 116-RBI season in 1970.

But while playing with the Angels in 1971, he experienced vision problems related to the beaning and was out of the majors until the 1975 season when he returned to the Red Sox. He was limited to only 21 games that season, his last in the majors.

The tragic incident ranks among baseball's greatest "what if?" moments. Conigliaro was a 22-year-old slugger with 104 career homers —€“ he led the AL with 32 long balls in 1965 — when his promising career was forever changed.