I hate to bring up other sports on the Baseball Cafe, but I remember laughin' my a** off when I heard Brian Griese got injured by tripping over his dog.
Griffey Jr missed a game with a pinched testicle after his cup slipped.
Greg Harris hurt his shoulder when he was in the bullpen trying to flip sunflower seeds into the stands.
John Smoltz is often mentioned as one of the best pitchers of his generation. The comparisons range from Greg Maddux to Pedro Martinez. But one thing is certain – Smoltz will never be mistaken for Martha Stewart.
Smoltz, the anti-domestic diva, once scalded himself while ironing a shirt – while he was wearing it.
Smoltz could write the book on how to throw a split-fingered fastball, but first, he should probably use the free time to read the instruction booklet for his de-wrinkling device.
But the best all time in any sport, proudly belongs to a punter:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Oct. 9, 2003) -- Chris Hanson swung and missed.
No, not at a ball he was trying to kick, but at the wood he was trying to chop.
The Jaguars punter needed surgery to close up a gash on his right, non-kicking, leg after he miscalibrated while using an ax to hack at the massive tree stump that coach Jack Del Rio placed in the locker room a few weeks ago. Del Rio used the stump as a symbol for the mantra he has adopted for the Jaguars (1-4) this season: "Keep chopping wood."
Hanson took the message literally, and wound up being rushed to the hospital, where he received several stitches, team spokesman Dan Edwards said. Hanson's leg will be in a boot for four to six weeks, and the team hasn't decided whether to place him on injured reserve, Edwards said.
Beginning with the Jaguars' Oct. 12 game against Miami, Jacksonville's only Pro Bowl player from last season will be replaced by Mark Royals, whom the Dolphins cut earlier this year.
The accident happened while position players were in meetings.
"Specialists have more free time on their hands," Del Rio explained.
After the team fell to 0-3, Del Rio had the tree stump placed in the middle of the locker room, set atop a plastic tarp, and equipped with an ax planted in the base of the log. The stump and ax remained in the room over the past two weeks, and every now and then, players would hack away, spraying wood chips all about the teal carpeting.
When the media was allowed into the locker room, the stump was still there, albeit much worse for wear. The ax, meanwhile, was gone.
Asked what happened to the ax, several players just shook their heads and smiled.
Del Rio opened his daily news conference by saying Hanson suffered an accident. Asked what kind of accident, he said it was "a locker room accident." Pressed further, Del Rio acknowledged it was with the ax. Thus marked a bad ending to a pretty decent motivational idea.
After Jacksonville's bad start, the first-year coach insisted to the team to "keep chopping wood," telling the players that hard work was the only way to solve their problems. "The message was understood," he said.
The log, he said, "was symbolic more than anything else. The thing was on its way out, but just not soon enough."
This isn't the first time Hanson has been injured in an unconventional manner. In June 2002, Hanson, his wife and former Jaguars kicker Jaret Holmes were severely burned while they were making fondue at Hanson's house, and the fondue pot overturned.
GotowarMissAgnes wrote:Jeff Conine Tanning Bed Too sunburned to play.
I believe you have the wrong Oriole. It was Marty Cordova who fell asleep in a tanning bed.
"5/23/02 This is a new one....Cordova was held out of the lineup yesterday after doctors advised him to stay out of the sun. Why? Because he burned his face in a tanning bed on Monday. You can't make this stuff up!"
But probably the accident with the most life long effects was Tony Conigliaro getting beaned, which led to the institution of ear flaps on batting helmets.
"On August 18, 1967, the Red Sox were playing the Angels at Fenway Park. Conigliaro, batting against Jack Hamilton, was hit by a pitch on his left cheekbone, and was carried off the field on a stretcher. He sustained a broken cheekbone and severe damage to his left retina. The batting helmet he was wearing did not have the protective earflap that has since become standard.
A year and a half later, Conigliaro made a remarkable return, hitting 20 homers with 82 RBI in 141 games, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors. In 1970, he reached career-high numbers in HRs (36) and RBI (116). After a stint with the Angels in 1971, he returned to the Red Sox briefly in 1975, but was forced to retire because his eyesight had been permanently damaged."
I would think that the worst incident would have to be the Carl Mays/ Ray Chapman beanball as Chapman was killed on the field and the rules, which did not bar spitballs (nor smearing balls w/ loogies, licorice, tobacco or anything else...) were changed. Whether or not this may have led to the eruption of power in the 1920s or if it was simply the Babe's workout plan remains speculation....
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by BillyHallDisciple » Sun May 20, 2007 10:26 pm 
