MLB: Ten Most Bizarre Injuries in Baseball History
By David Hill
4. Rickey Henderson gets frostbite. In August.
Rickey Henderson is one of those players that, if he did not exist, it would have been almost impossible to invent him. A speedster without peer, Henderson’s mouth moved as quickly as his legs, and without filter. Known for his insistence on referring to himself in the third person, and his entertaining malapropisms, Henderson kept us entertained on and off the field.
Those foibles also extended to the trainer’s room. He once missed several games in August due to a foot injury, which would make sense given how he relied upon his speed. But the reason as to why he missed those games is pure Henderson – he had frostbite because he left an ice pack on for too long.
It is the type of story that just makes sense for Henderson. After all, he allegedly went up to John Olerud and mentioned that he had previously played with someone else who wore a batting helmet in the field. That turned out to be Olerud when they were in Toronto together. He also slid into home plate on his 3000th hit, waving his teammates off so that he could score on his home run in style.
Honestly, even if the story of Henderson contracting frostbite in August was not true, it sounds like the sort of thing that would happen to him. He was a character all his own, a true original that may never be replicated.
Not only was Rickey Henderson a great leadoff hitter, but he also had one of the all time greatest injuries in baseball history. Who else would get frostbite in the middle of summer?
Next: A nightmare situation