Whenever you see these kind of injuries that happen during the offseason you always wonder what really happened. Well, ex Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood didn’t make this story up, as he nearly lost a finger following a crossbow hunting accident in January.
Wood spent five seasons with the Cubs that included being a part of the bullpen in 2016, when the Cubs won the World Series. His career took a turn for the worse in 2017, recording a 6.80 ERA with the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres in 94 innings. The lefty signed a minor-league deal with the Detroit Tigers this offseason and after the hunting accident Wood was willing to have doctors cut off his index finger.
Luckily that wasn’t needed and even more fortunate the terrible-looking injury was on Wood’s non-pitching hand.
Tigers non-roster invite Travis Wood has a pin in right index finger after a bow hunting accident. He said he asked doctor if chopping finger would get him back to pitching sooner. Fortunately, he’s left-handed. He’s throwing in camp but not catching yet.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) February 14, 2018
Still, it looks pretty gross.
This is Travis Wood’s finger. He got an x-ray this morning. Finding out later today if he can take the pin out. If so, he can ditch the splint and resume wearing the glove. pic.twitter.com/H9KKokqtwa
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) February 16, 2018
Hopefully that heals back up because Wood could have a great shot at being a starter for the Tigers, who are in complete tank mode.
Plus, we all know that Wood can give the Tigers more than just an arm. He’s a triple threat. Pitcher, hitter and fielder.
Just, you know, wait for the pin to be removed before making any more leaping catches.
Anyway, as soon as I saw this injury I thought about some other weird injuries from previous Cubs players. I think two of the most infamous ones were Kerry Wood and Sammy Sosa.
Back in 2007, Kerry Wood slipped and fell getting out of a hot tub at his home in Arizona during spring training. He was already trying to come back from several shoulder injuries and was in the process of being converted into a relief pitcher. Wood didn’t pitch in the big leagues until August that year. That hot tub slip was just another small setback during his injury-plagued career.
This is the first weird injury I remember with the Cubs. Sammy Sosa once suffered back spasms because he sneezed too hard before a game.
However, the funniest weird injury has to be Carlos Zambrano, who had to be told to stop using the computer so much because it could have been the reason he was experiencing some elbow issues. Zambrano said he would spend four hours a day on his computer, talking with family in Venezuela via e-mail.
Right, he was emailing too much…