Athletes Have to Guard Against Freak Injuries When Not Playing

Los Angeles Dodgers fans can breathe a sigh of relief, it appears pitcher Joe Kelly will make a full recover from his cooking-related back injury he suffered last week. Manager Dave Roberts scratched him from his scheduled start last week, telling reporters the freak injury was the result of Kelly “standing too long” while cooking Cajun food.

Some injuries in sports are extremely serious, ranging from torn ligaments to broken bones. Others are a bit more whimsical. Another Los Angeles Dodger, Mike Marshall, once was held out of the lineup because of “general soreness.”

We take a look at some of the weirdest maladies befallen on professional athletes. Some are self-inflicted, some cause head scratching, and others are just down right humorous.

Safety First, DL Second

In 2002, Kansas City Royal catcher Brent Mayne was having no problem playing one of the most physically demanding positions in baseball. Collisions with runners, foul tips off his face mask, 95 mph fastballs pounding his non-throwing hand, all were no problem for Mayne.

Crossing the street, however, was a far more arduous task. Mayne was looking in both directions, but then turned too quickly to double check for traffic. He suffered back spasms that landed him on the disabled list for 15 days.

Smoking Hazardous to Health?

Not even superstars are immune to freak injuries. Chicago Bulls’ great Michael Jordan was the victim of an accident when he did battle with a cigar cutter and lost.

Jordan was no doubt preparing to light up a victory cigar in 1999, when he went to snip off the end of a stogie and got his finger instead. Fortunately for Bulls fans, the laceration only kept him out of one game.

Griese Sacked by Driveway

Denver quarterback Brian Griese was enjoying a 2002 barbecue at teammate Terrell Davis’ house and admitted there were some adult beverages being consumed.

As he was leaving, Griese took a tumble down the driveway and knocked himself unconscious, as well as chipping a tooth. An ambulance was called to attend to the knocked out signal caller.

“It was a barbeque, and it wouldn’t be a barbeque without (beer),” Griese told ESPN at the time. “But that had no bearing on whether I fell or not.”

With This Ring I do Amputate

In December 2004 Paulo Diogo had set up his Servette FC teammate Jean Beausejour for a goal and was so excited about his assist, he wanted to celebrate with the fans of the Swiss Challenge League Team.

Diogo jumped up on a perimeter fence and was caught up in the moment. Unfortunately his wedding ring was also caught on the fence. When he jumped down almost all of his body went with him. A piece of his ring finger stayed on the fence. Efforts to reattach it were unsuccessful, and he was left with a nub on one of his digits.

Tying Shoelaces Brings Peril

Every year at the first day of practice, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden would bring his All-American athletes barefoot to half court with their socks and shoes in hand. He would then teach them the proper way to put on that part of their apparel.

Detroit Tigers catcher Mickey Templeton should have gone to one of those practices. Templeton, apparently sometime in the early 1990s, tied his shoelaces too tight and wound up with a foot infection. He spent 15 days on the disabled list.