Ouch! That Had to Hurt!

As a former Athletic Trainer, I'm no stranger to sports injuries.  I've seen my share of sprained ankles, shin splints, tendinitis, and even had a gymnast once who showed up in the training room with an index finger that resembled the letter "L."  But there are some nauseating injuries that turn the stomachs of even the most seasoned sports medicine professionals.  While I don't remember Joe Theismann's broken leg in 1985, I do have three memorable sports injuries that have stayed in my mind despite having happened a long time ago.

In 1989, I remember watching Super Bowl XXIII and seeing this guy from the Cincinnati Bengals get his foot caught in the turf.  His ankle and lower leg did a full 180 degree rotation, and both bones in his lower leg were shattered (I had to Google the injury to know that the football player was Tim Krumrie).  It was the slow-motion replay that made the injury look so gruesome - everyone in my English class was talking about it the next day.

Also in 1989, San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky snapped his upper arm in half after throwing a pitch to the Expos' Tim Raines.  Dravecky had just made a heartwarming comeback after a battle with bone cancer, and apparently his bones were still brittle from all the treatments he received.  Dravecky eventually had his arm amputated and I think his cancer even came back after that.

Then I remember the horse Barbaro breaking his right hind leg during the 2006 Preakness - that was one of those injuries that had you seething between your teeth going "Ooooh nooooo!"  The poor horse ended up undergoing all kinds of surgeries but had to be euthanized in 2007 because even though his right hind leg had completely healed, his other 3 legs had issues.  That had to stink!

Despite all these obvious injuries having a lasting impact on me, sometimes it's the injuries that you don't see that make you feel really bad.  Last year during the post-season, the Phillies' Ryan Howard ruptured his Achilles tendon while trying to run towards first base.  As soon as he fell to the ground, I thought "It's his Achilles, and he's going to be out for a long, long time."  Despite being a Philly-hater, I felt bad for Howard; rupturing your Achilles is no walk in the park.  Just ask Dan Marino. 

And how about Buster Posey's injury early last season after the Marlins' Scott Cousins brutally collided with him at home plate?  You didn't see an obvious injury, but from the looks of Posey writhing in pain, you could tell something was majorly wrong.  Fortunately for Posey, he's all better and playing quite well this year.  And I still think Cousins was a moron for sliding the way he did.

But not all baseball players are lucky enough to make a comeback like Posey.  Before yesterday's game between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera was catching fly balls in the outfield during batting practice - something that relief pitchers commonly do while their teammates are taking BP.  Rivera lunged for a ball hit by Jayson Nix near the warning track in left-center field when his knee buckled and he lost his footing.  Mariano landed on the dirt and crumpled against the outfield fence, immediately grabbing at his right knee in agony.  Again, we didn't see any obvious body parts snapping or popping or turning every-which-way, but you couldn't help but feel bad when you saw the replay on TV.  He ended up with an ACL tear and a partial tear of his meniscus - the anterior crusciate ligament helps stabilize the knee and the meniscus helps to cushion the joint - and will likely undergo surgery very soon.

The 42-year-old rightie from Panamá is undoubtedly the greatest closer in baseball history.  "Mo" is currently the only player in Major League baseball wearing the number 42, which was Jackie Robinson's number.  Even though the number was retired all over the league, Mariano was allowed to keep his number since everyone knew he would be retiring in the next couple of years himself.  Unfortunately, that retirement may be coming sooner than expected.  Rivera is definitely out for the season, and it is just too soon to predict whether he will ever pitch in the Majors again. 

So here's something you won't see from me too often:  A tribute to a Yankee.  With help from baseball-reference.com, here are some of the highlights of Mariano Rivera's career:

• played in 12 All-Star Games
• was the 1999 World Series MVP and 2003 ALCS MVP
• has a career record of 76 wins and 58 losses with an ERA of 2.21
• has the most saves ever with 608!
• has a post-season ERA of .70 with 42 saves!
• has a career total of 1119 strikeouts (pretty good for a guy who only plays one or two innings a game!)
• has pitched in 1,051 games, which is #1 for active pitchers and #8 overall

So as you can see, whether he makes a comeback or not, Mariano Rivera is bound for the Hall of Fame.  If he retires this year, he will be eligible for enshrinement in 2017, along with a certain catcher who retired earlier this year.  Hmmm... since I'll be in Cooperstown in 2017 anyway, I guess I'll get to watch Mariano being inducted as well!  And since Iván Rodriguez did play for a little while with the Yankees, he probably caught for Rivera once or twice, so that will be nice to watch!  (I really do try not to mention "Pudge" in every single blog, but it's like "Six Degrees of Separation" - you can't mention a future Hall-of-Famer without Iván's name coming up!).  Mariano will be in my prayers though; a potentially career-ending injury is no fun - even for a Yankee!