Jarred Kelenic offers tearful apology over embarrassing injury
Jul 3, 2020; Seattle, Washington, United States; Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic (58) watches an afternoon practice session at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic broke down in tears addressing the media Thursday in the wake of a significant injury that he only had himself to blame for.
Kelenic broke his left foot on Wednesday when he kicked a water cooler in frustration after striking out. He addressed the media on Thursday, but had to take a lengthy pause before making his statement due to how emotional he was.
Jarred Kelenic was so upset with the injury. That he couldn’t speak for a few minutes. He said he let his teammates down. pic.twitter.com/aSnY792R2K
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023
Part of Kelenic’s opening comments pic.twitter.com/ycR8dM4qbF
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023
“I let the emotions get the best of me there,” Kelenic said. “I just feel terrible, especially for the guys. I let the emotions get the best of me and I just let them down, and take full responsibility for it. It’s on me. It just can’t happen.”
Kelenic certainly is not the first player to suffer a frustration-related injury. This one comes at a particularly awful time, though. The Mariners lost on Wednesday to fall to 47-48 on the season, and are quickly falling out of the AL playoff picture. The 24-year-old Kelenic has also been having something of a breakout season, hitting .252 with 11 home runs and a .759 OPS in 2023.
It was not immediately clear how long Kelenic will be out, but one figures it will be a while.
