When Ian Happ crumpled to the ground Thursday in Pittsburgh, it was a scary sight that brought immediate concern and questions to the surface for the 2020 Cubs.

Happ has been the best and most consistent player on the team, so losing him for any major period of time would be a major blow.

Fortunately for Happ and the Cubs, that wasn’t the case, as he missed only a game-and-a-half after fouling a ball off that bounced up and hit him in the eye.

He left no doubt that he’s back to 100% by smashing the second pitch he saw off the right-field scoreboard in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. It was his 4th leadoff homer of the season, a mark that leads Major League Baseball.

Happ added another solo blast later in Game 1, further cementing his status in the National League MVP race with only three weeks left in the season.

He also felt well enough to start and play Game 2, drawing a walk on four pitches to lead off that contest.

Happ doesn’t wear contacts and was still sporting a little bruise by his right eye as he hopped on a Zoom call with media before Saturday’s doubleheader. Immediately following the injury, he was checked for fractures around the eye and a possible concussion, but those were ruled out pretty quickly.

“I watched it happen as the ball was spinning,” Happ said. “My eyes were open, so I kinda watched the lace contact the eyeball — I felt that. Definitely scary in the moment, definitely scary when I got up to a knee there and was trying to get my bearings and figure out if I could see and just try to blink it out. It was really blurry on the field.”

Happ said he didn’t feel confident Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh he could finish the at-bat given his vision was compromised. And he pointed out that the right eye is the dominant one for left-handed hitters as they face the pitcher, so the whole ordeal was disconcerting.

“Vision is so important for us as hitters,” Happ said. “Especially for the way that I think about my game, so anything that affects that is scary or nerve-wracking. But after seeing the docs, I felt comfortable that it would just be a matter of time.”

He admitted he was in a lot of discomfort for the remainder of the day Thursday as the eye continued to water. But first thing Friday morning, he went to see a doctor, who dilated his eye and gave him drops to help heal the scratch on the cornea and surrounding eyelid.

By the time Happ woke up Saturday morning, he was able to see clearly and passed all the vision tests, letting manager David Ross know he would be able to play in the Cubs’ doubleheader.

It’s fair to say Happ’s eyes have been working properly all season as he’s come into his own with the Cubs. He leads the team in most offensive categories and his 1.093 OPS ranks 1st in all of baseball among qualified hitters.

Happ has earned the everyday center field role for the Cubs this year after spending most of 2019 in Triple-A making adjustments to his swing and approach.

Ross retired before Happ made his MLB debut with the Cubs, but he spent the last three seasons as a special assistant in the front office and during that time, he had some in-depth conversations with Happ about expectations and how to produce on a consistent basis in the big leagues.

So when Ross took the job as Cubs manager, he felt like he had a pretty good idea of what Happ could mean to this team.

“When you start writing down names in the lineup [in the offseason], I told a lot of the coaches and the inner circle, ‘For me, this guy is gonna make a big difference. If he has a big year, we’re really gonna roll.’ And that guy was Ian Happ,” Ross said.

It’s played out exactly as Ross predicted, as Happ has helped the Cubs jump out to a 2.5-game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central heading into play Sunday.

Happ credits Ross’ confidence in him as a big reason why he’s found success this season, but he also feels he’s matured a lot since his rookie season of 2017.

“Baseball mentally is so difficult,” Happ said. “There were stretches that were really good in 2018, but there were also stretches that were really difficult, especially in September that year. When you think that a bad day for you could mean not playing for three or four games, if a pinch-hit is the end of the world depending on which way it goes — it’s just a very difficult mindset. It’s a very difficult space to be in.

“I struggled with that and I struggled that in Triple-A, too. I struggled with that early on – accepting that the results on a daily basis don’t make you a good or bad baseball player — it’s all part of the process.

“For me right now, just the confidence that Rossy showed in me and the confidence that I got from my performance at the end of the season last year as well has really boosted me and given me the freedom to go out and just play baseball.”