We may be more than two weeks away from the start of baseball season, but that hasn’t stopped the weird injuries from continuing to roll in. Last week, the Royals announced that shortstop Alcides Escobar would miss time in spring training after a bug bite became infected. The latest weird injury victim, Angels pitcher Scott Downs, is a repeat customer. You might recall Downs injuring his foot in 2009 trying to run out of the batter’s box.
This time, Downs has a broken toe. Unlike his first foot injury, the left-hander suffered this setback in the comfort of his own home. According to ESPN Los Angeles, via Hardball Talk, Downs fractured his toe while playing with his kids at his Arizona home. He’s expected to miss at least a couple weeks, and likely the start of the regular season.
“I was just doing normal dad stuff at home,” he said, noting that the toe swelled up and turned purple. “It’s obviously very frustrating, but I think it’s just a minor setback.”
Can’t fault a man for spending some quality time with his kids, right? Don’t be surprised if MLB teams are including “no horsing around with your children” clauses in contracts in the near future.
