David Fry is loved by his Guardians teammates and Manager Stephen Vogt. There was never a doubt about that, but this weekend emphasized that point at a time when the Guards were fighting for first a playoff spot and then the AL Central championship.

Fry was in the clubhouse Sept. 28 before the Guardians played the Rangers in the final game of the regular season. Five days earlier, Fry stopped a Tarik Skubal 99 mph fastball with his face while attempting to bunt. White tape from cheek to cheek held in place gauze padding under Fry’s nose to protect what doctors at Lutheran Medical Center stitched together.

“I feel great, all things considered,” Fry said. “I mean, it was 100 percent a God thing. It could have been way worse. They just kept saying an inch up at an inch down, we could have had some real problems, but all in all, I feel great.”

Managing a baseball team is about on-field decisions, but also taking care of players off the field. Like injured David Fry, says #Guardians skipper Stephen Vogt. pic.twitter.com/3Uvm5mlH2I

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 28, 2025

Fry can’t be in the dugout because of his injury, so his teammates are honoring him by placing his “6” jersey in the dugout. He wasn’t in the clubhouse for the champagne celebration after the Guardians clinched a playoff spot by beating the Rangers on Sept. 29, but players made sure to douse Fry’s jersey as if he were there.

“Super cool,” Fry said. “This is such a close group. I love all these guys. Getting the pictures last night of them dousing my jersey with champagne, I don’t get to be a part of these things, the fact these guys fight for me is really cool.”

Fry’s wife Rebecca was watching the game on television when the pitch from Skubal inadvertently hit Fry. Fry fell in the batter’s box immediately after being hit, but he tried to rise until trainers and Vogt told him to stay down.

Fry in the clubhouse interview said his wife didn’t panic because he did lift his head while lying on the ground — concerned, obviously, but she didn’t panic.

Rebecca, eight months pregnant with the couple’s second child — “Another girl; nothing but a girl dad,” Fry said — and their 2-year-old daughter, Evelyn, caught the first available flight to Cleveland. They arrived before Fry was discharged from Cleveland Clinic on Sept. 24.

It happened that Evelyn turned 2 years old while she and her mom were in Cleveland to cheer up David. Her birthday would have been celebrated in Texas. Instead, the Guardians threw her a birthday party at Progressive Field. And not just with cake and balloons.

Evelyn is at an age when the characters from the movie “Frozen” are almost as cool as her dad. So the Guardians arranged for Elsa and Anna from Frozen to be part of the birthday party.

“I was about to cry,” Fry said. “Even the guys coming in to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ would have been above and beyond.

“We watched “Frozen” 24/7. The “Frozen” cast came in and sang to her. The whole organization was there. It was pretty dang awesome.”

The whole thing — Fry’s jersey in the dugout, the champagne shower, the Frozen birthday party for Fry’s daughter — is a reflection of Vogt’s leadership even if he didn’t orchestrate any of it personally. Vogt began connecting with his players when he was hired in November 2023.

“That’s the most important part of the job,” Vogt said before the Sept. 28 game with the Rangers. “The part that goes on on the field, obviously that’s why we’re here, but this is about people. This is about us coming together and you do what’s right for the person, and that’s in any line of work.

“When something like that happens to one of your players, you do whatever you can to make sure that their family is well. Our organization takes great care of our players and staff. It’s been a tough week for the Fry family. And so what can we do to help bring some joy to their family right now and not break cadence just because dad got hit.”

Fry suffered “multiple, minimally displaced, left-sided facial and nasal fractures,” according to the Guardians, but no surgery is required He is expected to make a full recovery in six to eight weeks. His next game will be in the Cactus League during spring training 2026.

“Oh, I’m already excited for that moment whenever it comes,” Fry said. “I don’t think it will happen this year, but next year, I’ll be excited to be back in the box. I’m not worried about it. It’s part of playing sports and I’ll be ready to go.”