August Injury Report – Week 3

The following is a list of injuries to players which occurred between August 16th and August 23rd of the SP78 season, with injuries noted by date, team, player, and number of days or weeks missed. (Note: there were no injuries on the 16th)

August 17

NY-N: In the second inning of their game against the Padres, Mets third baseman Lenny Randle aggravated a prior injury to his hip when he stumbled into the visitor’s dugout chasing a foul ball off the bat of Fernando Gonzalez; he would leave the game and be out of action for the next five days.

TEX: In the top of the eighth inning of the Chisox-Rangers match-up at Arlington Stadium, Alan Bannister’s sinking line drive to center fell for a triple when Texas center fielder Juan Beniquez misjudged his diving attempt to make the catch and landed awkwardly on the outfield grass, straining his wrist. The injury would force him to miss the next seven games.

August 18

STL: Cardinals batter Mike Phillips suffered contusions to his right hand when he was struck by a pitch from Braves reliever Dave Campbell during the eighth inning of their game at St Louis. He was replaced by a pinch-runner and would sit out the next four games, but would return in time to participate in the SP78 40th Anniversary game on August 22nd.

August 19

LA: Citing a sudden tightness in his pitching shoulder, Dodgers starter Doug Rau asked manager Tommy Lasorda to remove him from their afternoon contest against the Mets after just one inning of work, after he surrendered a walk to batter Bobby Valentine on four pitches. Rau would miss his next start, and will probably miss one more before returning to the starting rotation later this month.

MIL: Brewers starter Lary Sorensen was the second SP78 pitcher lost to injury today, after he went 4.1 innings before developing a blister on his pitching hand and leaving the game, two outs before he would’ve qualified for the victory in an eventual 7-1 Milwaukee win over Detroit. The blister was deemed serious enough to keep him out of action for at least another start.

August 20

OAK: A long fly ball off the bat of Boston’s Jack Brohamer resulted in a collision between Oakland center fielder Glenn Burke and the outfield wall at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, resulting in a triple for Brohamer and a separated shoulder for Burke, who would be placed on the 30-day disabled list the following day. It would be his second month-long stint on the DL this season, after a collision with teammate Mike Edwards resulted in a thirty-day absence back in April.

August 21

LA: While charging in on a short pop fly off the bat of Montreal’s Ellis Valentine, LA left fielder Dusty Baker clipped shortstop Bill Russell as he backpedaled to make the catch; the ball dropped untouched, allowing Valentine to race to second with a double, while both defensemen remained prone on the outfield grass. Russell was not injured and remained in the game, but Baker was helped off the field with an unspecified leg injury, and will likely be out the rest of the month.

SF: The Giants also lost an outfielder to injury after a collision with a shortstop, as Terry Whitfield will be out for at least a week after running into teammate Roger Metzger as they converged on a shallow fly ball during the fourth inning of their game against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Whitfield was replaced by Jim Dwyer, while Metzger was unscathed and continued the game at short.

August 22

DET: Tigers outfielder Steve Kemp will miss the next few games after landing roughly on the hard Metropolitan Stadium turf while diving for a line shot by Roy Smalley in the fifth, which skipped past him and went to the wall for a triple. X-rays were taken of his right wrist and elbow as a precaution, but no breaks or fractures were found.

August 23

DET: After losing an outfielder to injuries yesterday, the Tigers will be without the services of two more players, after center fielder Ron LeFlore and second baseman Steve Dillard were both hurt when they collided during the second inning of their Game 1 match-up against the visiting Blue Jays. The batter, Roy Howell, made it to second on the play; LeFlore is expected to return to the lineup soon, but Dillard will be placed on the 30-day DL due to his injuries, which have yet to be specified by the team.

MIN: In the first game of a doubleheader between Texas and Minnesota, with Mike Hargrove batting in the sixth, Twins third baseman Mike Cubbage was injured when he chased a pop-up into foul territory and slammed into a metal railing near the Ranger dugout. Not only did he fail to make the catch, but his left knee struck the rail in the process, prompting his immediate departure from the game. There has been no report on what type of injury he suffered, but sources say he will be out for at least a week.