Worst injuries in baseball history

This ain't baseball, but it's a great softball story.

So we're playing in a night league, chance at a double play. Our shortstop, Jim, takes the relay, comes across second base and fires the ball hard to first base. He had a strong arm and was able to wind it up for the throw.

And the runner, I guess trying to distract Jim, waits too long for the slide. The ball hits him in the forehead with a major WHACK and caroms high in the air, finally landing down the left-field foul line halfway to the outfield fence.

The runner went down like a shot. Out like a light and everyone ran to him. There was sweat running off his face and head, and we all thought it was brain fluid at first. The ball hit him so hard, and from 10 feet away.

But the guy came around after a minute or so, and he was sorta okay and was able to walk off on his own. They took him to the emergency room as a precaution, but he wasn't seriously injured.

Jim took it real hard that night. He thought he had killed the guy.........So we're drinking beer in the bar later, and Jim kept moaning about it.

"I really thought he was lying there dead," he said.

And one guy pipes up and says: "Better drink up, Killer. He'll probably die in his sleep tonight."

And that broke the tension. We couldn't stop laughing for a coupla minutes, and Jim just sat there with a twisted grin on his face. Then we pounded more beer and kept replaying the scene. And the sick jokes kept on rolling.

We talked about that night for years.

 

That I remember...his absolute scream of pain and the sound of a loud snap echoing through Jack Murphy Stadium. Still stunned thinking about it.

 

Yes.

 

How about Juan Encarnacion from last night? Ouch!

 

That's probably a good addition to the list. Of course, we can't forget about Mike Coolbaugh.

 

To this day, I cannot believe Florie walked off the field under his own power after that shot. Pretty much killed his career, as did the one Matt Clement took at Tampa in '05 (no gore, but pretty much finished him as an effective pitcher).
Then there was the Johnny Damon-Damian Jackson collision in center field in Game 5 of the '03 ALDS. For about 30 seconds, I thought Damon was dead.
But for the grossout factor, watching Jason Kendall's foot dangle like Go for Wand can't be beat.

 

Mike Cameron met Carlos Beltran head-on in San Diego a couple years ago. That was disturbing at the time, and both players were out for a little bit.

 

Pittsburgh's Dave Clark nearly breaking his neck when his head hit the outfield wall after colliding with a teammate.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07149/789728-63.stm

 

Jose Canseco injuring his arm while pitching ... oh wait, that belongs on the funniest injuries in baseball.

Yet it's still not as good as Canseco getting boinked on the head by a flyball that preceded to go over the fence ...

That Jose, what a madcap.

 

Almost. Happened in the US minor leagues in 1974. Victim was named Alfredo Edmead. He was a prospect, but I think his status was inflated somewhat after he died with "He would have been great" claims. As I recall, they discovered after his death that his skull was abnormally thin and that a thrown ball may have been enough force to seriously or fatally injure him at some point.

 

Outside of Florie, that might have been the scariest thing I've seen during a baseball game. I reallly thought, the first time I saw it, that Cameron was dead. The comments from the guys who got to him first (Cliff Floyd and Marlon Anderson, I think) were scary...stuff about blood coming out of his mouth and Cameron being barely coherent.

Then Omar sticks it to him one more time by trading him to............the Padres.

 

Mr Sloan,

I'm glad I didn't race into print recounting an anecdote that was told to me twenty years ago by scout since deceased. I only remember Pablo Cruz being the guy because his name stuck with me and so did the teenager Cruz was touting on the diamond at the Olympic Park, Moises Alou.

That said, it would have been a gruesome ending but I never quite bought the father falling in the grave.

YHS, etc