They call him \u201cCope.\u201d It\u2019s a rather simple moniker, a play off his last name that blends seamlessly into the tradition of baseball nicknames. It fits and describes him in a way. Adaptable. Resilient. Process-driven and capable of handling instruction as well as hardship.<\/p>\n
Going to the Dodgers in the draft represented a chance for Copen to learn, so he dove in headfirst. The team explained to him why they liked him so much. He is all arms and legs at 6-foot-6 and can generate extreme extension down the mound, cutting short the amount of time hitters have to react.<\/p>\n
Copen embraced it. He sought out the information his new organization had to offer and worked to refine not just his pitch mix but how he attacked hitters. The changes took. He reduced his walk rate, which had been a problem during his college career. In his first professional season, Copen pitched well enough to earn a call-up from Low A to High-A Great Lakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a lot of ingredients that fit in those boxes,\u201d said David Anderson, who was Copen\u2019s pitching coach at Great Lakes, \u201cwhich makes it one of the most fun arms that you could have to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copen was looking to continue that momentum when he took the mound last Aug. 20 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Milwaukee Brewers\u2019 affiliate, in Midland, Mich. The first inning frustrated Copen, as he got two quick outs before allowing a run on a pair of hits and a walk. The second inning was Copen at his best, as he struck out the side.<\/p>\n
Then came the third inning, and the walk. Then the first-pitch cutter that missed its spot with a runner at first and nobody out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just thinking, get a double play,\u201d Copen said. \u201cWe were pretty close, actually, if I would have gotten out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, the crack.<\/p>\n
\u201cOff the bat, you heard that,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cAnd you heard a second crack. Then you\u2019re just praying it\u2019s not what you think it was. \u2026 It was the worst thing I\u2019ve been a part of on a baseball field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The blood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw blood dripping from my clothes,\u201d Copen said, \u201cand that\u2019s when I knew, I wasn\u2019t going to finish my start here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The uncertainty.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t feel pain when he got hit. Instead, he felt the pressure of several small facial fractures at once. Copen didn\u2019t lose consciousness. When a trainer came to check on him and went through his array of questions, Copen responded with frustration about leaving the cutter there.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/copen-headshot-scaled-e1755653703362.jpeg\")
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Patrick Copen studied replays of the comebacker that detached the retina in his right eye. \u2018I wanted to see why he hit it so hard.\u2019 (Courtesy: Tulsa Drillers)<\/p>\n
Copen was immediately transported to a local hospital, then transferred to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor, more than 110 miles away. There, Copen underwent emergency surgery through the night as doctors sought to repair the globe of his right eyeball. The surgery around his orbital bone was successful, but the detachment of his retina was so severe that doctors told him they could not save his vision in that eye.<\/p>\n
He was forced to navigate the world more carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cPouring water into a glass is different,\u201d Copen said. \u201cGrabbing my card from the cashier is different. Seeing where I am in space, like grabbing the doorknob, is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
He figured going out to a mound again would be different, too.<\/p>\n
Two weeks after surgery, Copen called the clubhouse manager at Great Lakes and asked if he could come to the ballpark. He did not return to Dow Diamond as a means of conquering whatever trauma had developed during his last time there. His purpose was more practical. He went straight to the mound and looked at home plate. Then he practiced his set motion from the stretch, as if there were a runner on base.<\/p>\n
He turned to the clubbie, Johnny Dukes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m going to have to hold runners differently,\u201d Copen told him.<\/p>\n
Save for a span of around 30 minutes in the ambulance, Copen figured that he\u2019d somehow be back on that mound one day. He knew as much, especially as the calls rolled in from family and friends. Dodgers personnel, who urged him that if he wanted the chance to pitch, the organization would give him every opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n
Anderson received a message the day after the injury from Copen, containing a video of the right-hander going through his normal day-after start routine and dry work to emphasize his lower half. The pitching coach was flabbergasted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there are many people in the world that would\u2019ve attacked his rehab and his recovery the way that he did,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
It was the first of several videos that Copen and his girlfriend, former Marshall volleyball star Macy McElhaney, would record in the coming months, showing each stage of his recovery. There was the plyometric work, which likely went against the doctors\u2019 orders but was just part of Copen\u2019s usual throwing routine. McElhaney filmed herself throwing rolled-up socks, then tennis balls, then ping-pong balls at Copen in order to practice his depth perception. Before the season ended, Copen made sure to return to the Great Lakes dugout, putting on the uniform and joining his Loons teammates to show everything was alright.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never forget telling the guys this is the person who\u2019s most upbeat about all this, is Cope,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cSo it\u2019s like we need to rally around what he\u2019s setting the path for us to follow and rally around the positivity that he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
That part came easily for the young pitcher. Day-to-day tasks often took some adjustment time due to Copen\u2019s depth perception issues, but once on the mound, there wasn\u2019t much difference outside of how he holds a runner. Now, rather than give half a look to check the runner, he will turn his head completely.<\/p>\n
Once he figured that out, he wanted to see what happened the day of his injury. His goal was not to relive the experience of the line drive, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to see why he hit it so hard,\u201d Copen said.<\/p>\n
He watched the video clip of the pitch repeatedly. The cutter hadn\u2019t moved the way he wanted it to. So he tweaked the grip, hoping to add more depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely don\u2019t want to throw cutters that act like bullet sliders,\u201d Copen said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Catching rolled-up socks turned into playing catch, which turned into months of bullpen sessions before Dodgers personnel wanted him to face hitters this spring. Several team officials gathered on a back field in Arizona to watch what months before had seemed like a long shot.<\/p>\n
Copen hadn\u2019t even lasted an inning before Dodgers All-Star Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, seeking to get some extra at-bats, stepped in and scorched a liner back up to the mound that struck Copen on the leg.<\/p>\n
He was fine, but the reminders kept coming. The next day, the Dodgers opened their spring training slate and watched as Bobby Miller got struck in the head<\/a> by a comebacker, sustaining a concussion but avoiding more damage. A day later, on the same mound, a 102.4 mph line drive hit San Diego Padres minor-leaguer Cole Paplham in the face<\/a> and hospitalized him.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how often it happens until it happens to you,\u201d Copen said.<\/p>\n \u201cAny time anybody gets hit, it\u2019s a terrifying thing,\u201d said Gomes, a former big-league pitcher. \u201cYou get a pit in your stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n That reality did little to deter Copen from achieving a goal he\u2019d set when he got hit. When Great Lakes opened its 2025 season at Dow Diamond in April, Copen was the Loons\u2019 Opening Day starter. He threw 3 2\/3 innings, allowing no hits, striking out nine and walking four in the first official outing of his new life.<\/p>\n Patrick Copen made a fearless return to the mound this season and continues to strike out batters at a high rate. (Rich Crimi \/ Tulsa Drillers)<\/p>\n The results continued from there. In 10 starts with the Loons, he struck out 77 batters in just 48 innings. His ERA sat at a measly 2.25 before he earned a call-up to Double-A Tulsa. Through his first 12 starts and 53 2\/3 innings there, Copen\u2019s ERA is 3.52. He\u2019s still striking out hitters at a strong rate, continuing a season that has impressed the Dodgers beyond the circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has three legit fastballs,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s taking steps forward. Even as he\u2019s moved up levels, the walk rates have been maintained \u2026 his overall pitch package is really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson also praised how Copen\u2019s focus has stood out since his return.<\/p>\n \u201cHis approach to his career is whatever happens to him, whether he\u2019s a big leaguer for 15 years, whether he\u2019s a big leaguer for one day, like he\u2019s going to make sure that he can say at the end of the day he did everything he could and he has zero regrets about how he goes about things,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n The last year has transformed Copen\u2019s life in more ways than one. He and McElhaney got engaged this spring, and months after she was there to witness Copen getting hit, she was there to watch his return to a professional mound.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving to deal with that has definitely allowed me to grow and have a different perspective on day-to-day life,\u201d Copen said. \u201cI mean, I was pretty close to getting knocked out or even worse. So being able to look at that and get through it and come back way better than I was before.\u201d<\/p>\n His perspective has shifted. The goal has not.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never a bad time at the ballfield in my book,\u201d Copen said.<\/p>\n (Top photo of Patrick Copen: Tim Campbell \/ Tulsa Drillers)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Patrick-Copen-by-Rich-Crimi-1-scaled.jpg\")
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