Bizarre Baseball Injuries

With the recent news of Ken Griffey Jr. breaking his throwing hand while wrestling with his kids. Oh yea, and don't forget the oft-injured Kerry (or should I say Carrie) Wood slipping on his way out of a hot tub and injuring his stomach/chest. It seems to me that baseball in particular tends to have some slightly bizarre injuries. So I did some thinking and here are my recent favorites in no specific order for the 1990s.

John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves
John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers of his generation, but he is no homemaker. Smoltz once severely scalded himself while trying to iron a shirt while he was wearing it. Pretty Impressive...

Glenallen Hill, Toronto Blue Jays

Drastically less talented and much less renoun as John Smoltz but as far as bizarre injuries are concerned he gave him a run for his money on this one. Hill suffered from an intense condition of arachnophobia. On one occasion he recieved cuts on his feet, knees, and arms during a violent dream about spiders. He smashed into a glass table and fell down the stairs all in his sleep. This landed him a spot on the 15-day DL as well as a spot in history as probably the first athlete to be sidelined due to arachnaphobic-related injuries. This injury is probably what he is most known for. Glenallen played from 1989-1991 with the Toronto Blue Jays mainly as a role-player and pinch hitter.

Sammy Sosa , Chicago Cubs

Most people remember Sammy for the epic homerun race he had in '98 with McGwire. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Sammy once sneezed so hard that he threw out his back and brought on backspasms and thus missed a few games.

Marty Cordova, Baltimore Orioles

Was the AL Rookie of the year while playing for the Twins in '95. However during his stint with the Orioles he had a certain injury which i recall quite well. Apparently unhappy with his baseball tan he went to a tanning salon and fell asleep in the tanning bed. He sustained severe burns on his face from the tanning lamps and had to miss a game or two. How do explain that one to the guys in lockerroom?

Adam Eaton, San Diego Padres

A few years ago (while playing for the Padres) Eaton was trying to open up a DVD and was having some trouble. He tried to use a pairing knife to get the plastic wrapping off and ended up stabbing himself in the stomach and punching himself a ticket to the Emergency Room

Steve Sparks, My beloved Milwaukee Brewers

This almost makes me embarassed to be a Brewers fan....ALMOST. Steve Sparks was a welltraveled knuckleballer who, in 1995, attended a motivational speaking seminar hosted by the Brewers. At the seminar they ripped phone books in half as part of the presentation. Sparks was so fired up he went home and tried it himself...Bad idea. Sparks dislocated his shoulder performing the stunt.

And there you have it my whackiest baseball injuries of the 90s. Anything worth mentioning that I forgot?