MLB: Top 10 Worst Reasons Players Have Missed Time

MLB players are notoriously known for missing time due to injuries bordering on the absurd. In honor of this, let’s look back at the worst examples of ridiculous injuries

Professional athletes have a knack for missing games for utterly ridiculous reasons. Heck, about a month into Spring Training and already we have two prime examples of MLB players missing time for utterly ridiculous reasons.

The first was New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who at the end of February got sick after eating undercooked chicken. So ridiculous was this story, that Mickey Callaway even vowed to “teach him how to cook so he doesn’t miss any games.”

Then there’s the most recent example, which involves newly acquired Los Angeles Dodgers RP, Joe Kelly. On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Kelly hurt himself – wait for it –  while “cooking some Cajun food.” About the injury, Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts said, “I guess he was standing a little longer than he wanted to. That’s what he told me.”

The sad part about this all is that these two examples, while bad, are not the worst or most ridiculous. So, in honor of the absurd and ridiculous, I’ve compiled a list of the worst reasons MLB players have missed games.

Player: Jose Cardenal, outfielder, Chicago Cubs

Reason(s): Couldn’t blink and couldn’t sleep.

Jose Cardenal was known for being a scrappy hitter with speed. For his career, Cardenal stole 329 bases, averaging about 26 SB in a 162-game season. In all, in 18 big league seasons, Cardenal played in 2017 games.

That number could very well have been 2019, but unfortunately, Cardenal missed two games in his career for utterly ridiculous reasons. the first of which was not being able to blink.

True story.

You might be wondering if the “injury?” occurred while performing baseball activities. You know, like maybe taking a ball to the eye or getting dirt in your eye while sliding into a base?

No! Apparently, Cardenal was removed from the 1974 Opening Day lineup because he slept funny and could not blink. According to the Washington Post, Cardenal swore that his eyes were “stuck open.”

It gets worse. Two years earlier, in 1972, his first season with the Cubs, Jose Cardenal missed a game because he couldn’t sleep. You can’t make this up. According to that same piece in the Washington Post, Cardenal claimed that crickets somehow made their way into his hotel room and chirped so loud through the night that the speedy outfielder couldn’t sleep.

Player: Sammy Sosa, outfielder, Chicago Cubs

Reason(s): Violently sneezing

Sammy Sosa will forever be known as the only player in MLB history to hit 60 or more home runs in three different seasons. So dominant was Sosa for a four-year stretch, between 1998 and 2001, that he hit 243 HR and 597 RBI. That’s an average of approximately 61 HR and 149 RBIs per season.

I’m not sure that’s ever been done before.

Shortly after that dominant run, however, Sammy began experiencing one of the worst runs a player has ever had. I’m not talking in terms of his play either. I’m referring to his character and his ego.

First came the suspicions that perhaps he was using performance enhancers to dramatically improve his play. Then came the corked bat incident. And in between, there was a missed game because of perhaps the dumbest reason you could ever imagine… a sneeze gone wrong.

According to a report, found here from ESPN, “Slammin’ Sammy” was placed on the 15-day DL “two violent sneezes brought on back spasms.”

Sammy’s career was never the same after that. The following season, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he’d have the worst season in more than a decade.

Then, after missing two seasons, Sammy Sosa returned for the 2007 season, where he would retire as a member of the Texas Rangers.

Player: Rickey Henderson, outfielder, Toronto Blue Jays

Reason(s): Fell asleep with an icepack on his foot

Rickey Henderson will forever be known as the greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history, perhaps even one of the greatest players of all time. As part of his resume, Henderson owns the all-time record in runs scored (2295) and stolen bases (1406). He was also the 1990 AL MVP and a two-time World Series champion.

So incredible was the stretch Henderson went on that he stole 30 or more bases in 23 of his 25 big league seasons. Henderson is also one of the few players to hit a home run in four different decades.

Most impressively, however, is how well Henderson was able to get on base. In fact, for his career, Henderson has a .401 OBP, making him stand out among all other lead-off hitters in baseball history.

There’s another reason why Henderson stands out among the rest, however. This time, it’s not for his greatness, but rather for missing three games after getting frostbite on his foot.

How did this happen?

After a game in August, Rickey Henderson was icing his foot. A common practice among athletes, especially runners. Henderson then fell asleep with the ice pack on his foot causing him to get frostbitten.

Luckily, Henderson would return in time to help the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1993 World Series.

Player: Wade Boggs, third baseman, Boston Red Sox

Reason(s): Taking off his cowboy boots

Hall of Fame player Wade Boggs is mostly recognized for his hitting ability. In his entire 18-year career, Boggs hit .300 or better 15 times, retiring after winning the World Series with the New York Yankees in 1996 with a career AVG of .328.

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Boggs led MLB in AVG five separate times. he led in OBP six times. He even led in OPS, despite averaging 8 HR per season, two times

Most people remember the Boston Red Sox in 1986 for the famous Bill Buckner play in the World Series against the New York Mets. That wasn’t the craziest thing to happen in 1986, however.

The craziest moment occurred behind the scenes when Boggs bruised his hips and missed a week of baseball. How? While taking off his cowboy boots.

That’s right!

After returning back to his hotel room in Toronto, Boggs tried to take off his boots, lost his balance and hurt his ribcage on the arm of his couch.

Unlike the other players, Boggs did manage to play the next game, but things were so bad that after a while, the Red Sox had to give the third baseman a few days off.

That season, Boggs still managed to smack 207 hits and put together a .357 AVG. He also helped the Red Sox make it to a game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Mets.

I’m not sure which of these is worse. The worst part is, these are just five of many examples of embarrassing reasons to miss games.

Is there a story you don’t see here? Share it with us in the comments below, we’d love to hear it!