A Pittsburgh Pirates player suffered a significant injury in one of the strangest ways possible on Opening Day.
Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales homered in the sixth inning of Thursday’s season opener against the Miami Marlins, but was noticeably limping while rounding the bases. He appeared fine on the swing and ran out of the box normally, but came up lame after rounding first.
First home run of 2025 goes to Nick Gonzales 👏 pic.twitter.com/uIkSoM3o4c
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 27, 2025
On Friday, Pirates manager Derek Shelton announced that Gonzales had suffered a fractured ankle, and was heading to the injured list. Evidently, the fracture took place while Gonzales was simply rounding the bases.
Nick Gonzales is heading on the 10-day injured list with a “non-displaced fracture of the left ankle,” per Derek Shelton. He will see a foot specialist in Pittsburgh.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) March 28, 2025
We have seen players pull a muscle on a home run swing. We have even seen infamous instances of players getting hurt while celebrating a home run. Gonzales was not doing any of that. He was in the middle of a routine home run trot and he somehow broke his ankle. That has to be some of the worst luck imaginable.
To add insult to injury, the Pirates blew a 4-1 lead over the final four innings and lost 5-4 to Miami. If this is a sign of things to come, it is going to be a very long season in Pittsburgh.
