Javier Baez suffered thumb injury in Opening Day celebration

Mar 31, 2022; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (28) in the second inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays during spring training at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez sat out his third consecutive game Friday due to a swollen right thumb. Minor injuries like this are common throughout baseball season, but the way this one happened isn’t.

Baez admitted that he originally hurt his thumb in the celebration following Detroit’s Opening Day win over the Chicago White Sox. He later exacerbated the injury during a game.

Javy Báez’s showed us his right thumb in the clubhouse. Still pretty swollen but X-rays have come back clean.

Báez said he initially jammed the thumb somehow in the Tigers Opening Day celebration. Jammed it again during a game.

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) April 15, 2022

Baez was behind a rather bizarre play that capped off the Tigers’ Opening Day comeback. The on-field celebration was pretty wild, with Baez right in the middle of it, and perhaps things went overboard a bit too much.

Celebration injuries are surprisingly common across all sports. Baez won’t be the last to deal with one. Fortunately, it isn’t serious.