It’s always a bummer when a baseball player gets injured. They’re forced to sit out, sidelined, watching their teammates have all the fun. But whenever a player gets injured in a weird way, it’s always an interesting story. And so many players have gotten hurt in ways ranging from insane to simply hilarious.
Already this Spring Training, the New York Mets alone have been beset by a plethora of injuries, so let’s look at some of the craziest, funniest, wildest
It wasn’t all a dream for Glenallen Hill (1990)
Toronto Blue Jays player Hill surprised his coaches when he came in on crutches on game day. Apparently, he’d had a nightmare about spiders, his biggest phobia, and he’d been injured sleep-walking, trying to escape from spiders in the middle of his nightmare. He somehow fell out of
Hill’s story apparently has a happy ending though; in 2017, the former ballplayer showed the world he has conquered his fear by letting tarantula crawl up and down his arm. (Link)
John Smoltz-in’ hot (1990)
Most of the athletes I know are great at the game, but pretty much big babies when it comes to the rest of their lives, and it sounds like John Smoltz is no exception. He burned himself while ironing his shirt… because he decided to iron it while wearing it.
Smoltz has since vehemently denied that this ever happened, but this quote in the Atlanta Journal Constitutionfrom around the time of the incident is pretty damning: “I couldn’t believe it. I’ve done it five or six times and never had that happen.”
Tom Glavine (1992)
The 10-time MLB All-Star pitcher suffered one of the worst bouts of food poisoning ever, vomiting so hard that he broke a rib. Worse yet, it happened on an airplane.
Rickey Henderson gets ‘bit (1993)
They say athletes are extraordinary, and nothing says that like managing to get frostbite in the heat of summer. A mere two months after I was born, the future Hall of Famer missed three games after falling asleep with an ice pack on his foot and getting frostbite.
Bret Barberie heats up (1994)
Barberie was temporarily blinded when he accidentally got chili pepper juice in his eye while putting in his contact lenses.
These stories get wilder and wilder by the decade, so stay tuned for the 80s edition, coming soon!
*Photo: Sports Illustrated
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