Freak Baseball Injuries: Lawn Mowers, Alligators and Tweezers
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I still remember reading and re-reading that old Sports Illustrated magazine that I found at my grandparents house in Montreal, Canada during a visit some 50 years ago. I treasured that mag for years until one day it disappeared during housecleaning.
One of the most fascinating things I recall reading in that magazine was about how Phillies lefthanded hurler of the time, Curt Simmons, who was 2nd on the staff to mound ace and now Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, went DL in June, 1953 after having sliced off part of his left big toe in a freak power lawn mower mishap. He returned after a month and still posted a 16-13 record and 3.21 ERA for the season. Nothing particularly intriguing about that accept that Simmons got back in action that quickly and didn’t skip a beat. How often do you see that today? Guys turn an ankle and go DL, then get sent down to the minors to rehab before returning to the active roster. Never mind that Simmons, after the injury, went strong for the Phillies until the late 1950s when he was traded to St. Louis in 1960 after which he brutalized a hapless Phillies team for years.
Today’s Yahoo Big league Stew reviews two of the more freakish, intriguing injuries to surface this spring, former Phillie and now Cleveland Indians’ outfielder David Dellucci’s alligator yarn and Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen’s self-mutilation of his right big toe with tweezers.
The Stew notes:
…The tale he [Dellucci] told reporters on Saturday of how an alligator chomped his thumb while he was saving a child — if only it were true.
From the Associated Press:
“Right before I came here,” Dellucci explained, “I was fishing on the side of my lake, and I heard a little boy screaming. I ran over there, and an alligator had him by the leg. I jumped on the gator, poked him in the eyes, freed the kid, but he [bit] me in my thumb. I got stitches, had surgery and the stitches will come out on Monday.”
Dellucci had reporters sold on the story, but his conscience got the better of him and he broke the silence with a well-placed “just kidding.” Turns out Dellucci slammed his hand in a trailer tailgate before leaving his home in Louisiana and had to get three stitches that will cause him to miss the beginning of Cactus League play.
When told by team doctors that an ingrown nail on his right big toe might require surgery, Guillen took matters into his own hands and removed the nail by himself with a pair of tweezers later that night.
…Here’ a short conversation that Y! Sports’ own Jeff Passan had with his own mother, who works as a nurse:
JP: “How much would it hurt to yank your big toenail out with a pair of tweezers?”
JP’s mom: “They have a word for that. Torture.”
JP: “So someone who would do that himself …”
JP’s mom: ” … is crazy.”
Guillen’s toe is currently being treated with antibiotics, but he has has since developed a sore shoulder and was limited to light conditioning work Saturday in Arizona. No word yet on whether Guillen plans to scope the shoulder himself with assorted kitchen utensils …
Wonder how much DL and minor league rehab time these guys will spend before returning to the active roster. Personally, my money’s on Chase Utley returning before either of these jive turkeys!
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