Clement Hit By Liner (7/26/2005)
Hard-throwing Matt Clement, best known for his days with the Padres and Cubs, once made the highlight reels for one of the worst of reasons.
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Facing Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford in July 2005, Clement was unable to elude a lined SHOT back through the box. Miraculously, though he was knocked out of the game, he was able to start eight days later and missed no turns for the rest of the season!
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Notes: I apologize for the lack of a better clip; this was the only one I could dig up.
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The injury occurred in the B3rd; Clement was relieved by Chad Bradford. The score was 5-0 in Boston's favor at the time; they went on to win 10-9 in 10 innings.
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Clement was down for several minutes and eventually stretchered off the field, though he somehow avoided a concussion. He underwent 2006 shoulder surgery and after comeback attempts led nowhere, Clement retired in April 2009.
Dominique Dunks On Larry Bird (10/30/1982)
I don't know HOW Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins was left off the NBA's Top 50 list. This dunk alone should have earned him a spot!
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The setup: Wilkins was in just his second career NBA game, facing the loaded Celtics (who were just two seasons removed from a championship). I couldn't find out exactly what point during the game Wilkins put the great Celtics F Larry Bird on a poster, but I can tell you Hawks C Tree Rollins threw the outlet pass.
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Notes: Despite Wilkins' 22-point effort, Boston won the game 112-97.
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I chose to post this video because any time a dude in his second career game throws down hard on one of the all-time greats (even back in 1982 Bird was a Rookie Of The Year, three-time All-Star, All-Star MVP and NBA champion), it merits some attention.
Jim Edmonds' Ridiculous Catch (6/10/1997)
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There was little that former Angels and Cardinals CF Jim Edmonds couldn't do with a glove on his hand. The dude regularly scaled walls to bring back homers, charged in, charged back, sprawled all-out to make impossible plays look almost routine.
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His masterpiece, however, will always be the ridiculous play he made to rob Kansas City's David Howard—for whom extra base hits were not in surplus—at Kauffman Stadium in 1997.
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Edmonds broke back, continued back, then made what is perhaps the greatest catch ever caught on film in MLB history. (We wouldn't need the "perhaps" if the setting was, say, the World Series and the hitter was somebody like David Ortiz rather than David Howard. But still.)
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Notes: Anaheim led 1-0 at the time of Edmonds' 5th-inning-ending play; they won the game 6-2. Howard, who started in RF, finished the game 0-for-2 before being pinch-hit for by Bip Roberts in the B7th.
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That's SP Jason Dickson on the mound for Anaheim. RF Tim Salmon helps Edmonds up, and 2B Luis Alicea (#5) is shown giving Edmonds praise.
Antonio Brown Kicks The Punter (9/7/2014)
Former Steelers WR Antonio Brown's list of transgressions has grown longer than a CVS receipt, but this is the one time I don't think he meant to do wrong.
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Back in the day, a younger Brown was often used to return punts, and in that role during the 2014 season opener, he went a little too far trying to escape his would-be tacklers.
In fact, he went Vega from Street Fighter II on Browns punter Spencer Lanning.
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Considering all the long-term damage Brown has done to people financially and professionally since then, at least a kick to the face is done and over with.
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Notes: Brown was assessed a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, and later fined $8200 by the NFL. Pittsburgh led Cleveland 17-3 at the time of Brown's 2Q kick; they went on to win on a walk-off field goal 30-27.
Alfredo Griffin's Ugly Swing (9/27/1992)
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Today, rainouts are not as common as they once were, thanks to retractable roof ballparks and a greater willingness by those in charge to extend delays.
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In the early 1990's, however, it seemed every 10th game was at Mother Nature's mercy, and unlike today, games weren't paused for completion the next day. So when the Blue Jays (in a tight division race) went up big on the Yankees as a downpour loomed, they did all they could to get five innings complete—making the game official.
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No one tried harder than veteran SS Alfredo Griffin to move the game to the B5th. Under orders from skipper Cito Gaston, he gave new meaning to the term "free-swinger" leading off the T5th.
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Notes: That's Yankees lefty Greg Cadaret who Griffin is flailing wildly against. Cadaret was then relieved by Curt Young; I cannot confirm if Jays batters Devon White and Robby Alomar took similar approaches as Griffin (their at-bats lasted four and three pitches, respectively.)
In the end, strangely enough, the game was not shortened or even delayed; New York fell to eventual division champion Toronto 12-2.
Josh Naylor's Broken Leg (6/27/2021)
Up-and-coming young outfielder Josh Naylor of the former Cleveland Indians played in 69 of their first 74 games in 2021, most of that as their starting RF. He carried a modest five-game hit streak into their June 27 matchup at division rival Minnesota.
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Unfortunately for him as well as the entire club, Naylor's impressive effort in pursuit of a B4th Texas Leaguer by Jorge Polanco led him right into the path of 2B Ernie Clement (playing just his seventh MLB game and going out farther than he probably should have).
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The result was catastrophic for Naylor's lower right leg.
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Notes: I picked this cut out of several available because you probably DON'T want to see a slo-mo replay of the injury. Naylor suffered an ankle fracture and dislocation, as well as ligament tears, and did not play again in 2021.
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Cleveland SP Sam Hentges surely appreciated the effort by his defense, even if it didn't produce an out.
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It's probably just me, but seeing Indians manager Terry Francona directing things added a sense of calm to an otherwise awful moment.
Minnesota defeated the Tribe 8-2.
Marquis Daniels Collapses (2/6/2011)
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Let me make clear that I don't post injury videos to sensationalize them, or to gain views or anything like that. I post them to inform and to educate. Pro sports are lucrative, but like many professions, they can be dangerous—any TSR visitors who are pursuing a career as a pro athlete, please keep in mind that your career could be thrown off-course or even ENDED at any given moment.
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Make your decisions and spend your earnings wisely, because you never know when it's all going to be over for you athletically.
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This injury happened to former Celtics G/F Marquis Daniels. While it didn't end his career, it was pretty damn scary and definitely had him thinking hard about his post-hoops future.
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Notes: I will usually refrain from defending Orlando G Gilbert Arenas for anything, but I didn't see much of a foul here.
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Glen Davis is seen among Daniels' concerned teammates; Davis himself knew a thing or two about getting helped off the court after an inadvertent blow.
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Daniels, who had spine issues in the past, was diagnosed with a bruised spine this time. He missed the rest of the season but returned to the Celtics for 2011-12; Daniels' NBA career ended after the 2012-13 season at age 32.
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By the way, Boston—who trailed 24-17 when play stopped—came back to beat the Magic 91-80. Daniels, who was hurt in the 2Q, finished with a rebound in four minutes off the bench.
Greg Myers' Inside-The-Park Homer! (9/13/2003)
In the year 2003, if there was a list of folks you'd least expect to hit an inside-the-park home run in a major league game, the first person on said list would have probably been Nelson Mandela. Oprah Winfrey would have placed second. Third could well have been Blue Jays C Greg Myers.
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Myers, in Year #1 of Stint #2 with Toronto, was only fast when compared to a tree stump. All three of his successful major league steals (in 15 tries) came in 1993, when he was obviously wagering with Angels teammate Luis Polonia. For Myers to hit an inside-the-park homer, everything would have to align just right.
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In mid-September 2003, everything aligned just right against the visiting Orioles.
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Notes: Defenders on the play included CF Tim Raines Jr. and relay man Deivi Cruz, whose relay throw must have gotten pushed by those rough SkyDome winds. The Blue Jays eventually topped the Orioles 6-1; Myers finished 2-for-4 with three RBI.
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Pat Hentgen, Myers' former Toronto batterymate a decade earlier, served up the unlucky hit. The "Wells" who scored was Vernon, not David.
Ryan Fitzpatrick's Facemask Throw (12/26/2020)
I don't handle certain types of injuries well, which is why I've always had my guard up when watching the NFL (especially since 2011, when a certain injury traumatized me so badly I skipped the entire 2012 season—except for my 49ers—recovering).
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Bad facemasks are one of those types of injuries—to this day I can still see Larry Johnson of the Chiefs almost getting the Exorcist treatment as he ran down the sideline some 20 years ago. Thankfully, the worst ones don't occur all that frequently, but as the Las Vegas Raiders battled for a playoff berth against the Miami Dolphins in late 2020, DE Arden Key almost pulled Miami QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's head right off his body.
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And Fitzpatrick STILL COMPLETED THE CLUTCH 34-YARD PASS (TO WR MACK HOLLINS)!
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Notes: Please excuse the video repeating itself.
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This play occurred with 12 seconds left in the 4Q; I watched live with two Raider-loving friends as Dolphins K Jason Sanders ended their playoff hopes with a field goal a few minutes later. 26-25 was the final.
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Hollins' catch? It was his 15th of 16 all season and second of the game.
Hosmer: From Hit To Ricochet Out (10/1/2021)
As my San Francisco Giants' 2021 division title push went down to the wire with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they needed EVERY break they could get.
Every favorable umpire's call. Every favorable opponent's mistake. Every favorable bounce.
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Facing the San Diego Padres in the third-to-last game of the season, the Giants got just the bounce they needed in the T6th. Eric Hosmer banged a grounder down the 3B line with two men on that 149 times out of 150 would have been an RBI single or double.
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But this time, a pesky base got in the way, turning up to two Padres runs into an inning-ending out!
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Notes: Up 2-0 at the time of Hosmer's misfortune, the Giants wrapped up the crucial 3-0 win three innings later. That's 3B Evan Longoria of San Francisco erasing Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr. in the semi-rundown. Padres IF Jake Cronenworth was on first base, and Jose Alvarez was the lucky SF reliever.
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Hosmer was credited with a single, for what it's worth.