March 06--MESA, Ariz. -- As Corey Black talked to reporters Friday morning, the Chicago Cubs' pitching prospect glanced at a clubhouse television that showed him breaking the left forearm of San Francisco Giants All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence.
"I don't like seeing it a lot," Black said Friday morning. "My heart goes out to him. I hope he heals quick and gets back better than ever."
Coincidentally, Black and Pence share the same agent -- Dan Horwits of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, and Black learned that Pence's forearm was broken during dinner with Horwits on Thursday night.
Black hopes to speak directly to Pence and issue an apology after expressing his remorse on Twitter that ignited a range of responses.
"A lot of negative things, but a lot of Giants fans were actually kind of shocked that I apologized like that," said Black, who could start the season at Triple-A Iowa. "You never want to hurt anybody. So it's a heartfelt tweet just to get his attention.
"I was actually kind of excited about the Giants fans saying 'don't worry, it's part of the game,' or something like that. It made me feel better. But there's always two or three people who have their negative comments, and you just got to let it go."
Black, who gained notoriety for being the player acquired from the New York Yankees in the Alfonso Soriano trade in July of 2013, said he had a bad feeling that Pence was seriously injured once Pence yelled after getting struck.
"You don't want to hurt anybody," Black said. "You don't try to hit anybody. It feels bad, especially for my first game in spring training. It's a bad way to start, but today is a new day and you got to get better and kind of forget about it."
Black had control problems from the outset. With one out, he walked two batters before nailing Pence and then allowing a single in the sixth.
