The Most Injured MLB Team and New Beef Between Darryl Strawberry & Doc Gooden
Our baseball update to prep you for the weekend
The saga of injury-plagued Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton should be over with the club releasing him Wednesday — but it’s never that easy, and the former American League MVP could rejoin the team next spring. If he does, Hamilton, 35, will have overcome numerous injuries (including three knee operations just since last September) and a history of drug dependency that robbed him of what potentially could have been a Hall of Fame career. The nine-year veteran hit a career .290 with 200 home runs and 701 RBI.
With the dog days of summer upon us, injuries are everywhere, but perhaps nowhere more than for the L.A. Dodgers, who have seven — SEVEN! — starting pitchers on the disabled list. The latest: lefties Scott Kazmir (neck inflammation) and Brett Anderson (blister). Most notable, of course, is lefty Clayton Kershaw (herniated disc), who at least threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday and reported no pain. How dominant was he: he still leads all pitchers with a 5.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) despite missing almost two months.
ESPN did such a beautiful 30 on 30 film this summer updating the whereabouts of former New York Mets stalwarts Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden, whose careers were cut short from drug, alcohol and other dependency issues. The two seemed to have reconciled a relationship that was once close but had frayed, and both seemed to finally be heading into good places in their lives. So what to make of this week’s kerfuffle, when Gooden supposedly missed an appearance with Strawberry, who then said his former pal had gone off track again. Gooden denies that and even posed smiling for a New York Post photo. “I don’t do cocaine and have not for years,” he said.
Quick Stats
Angels slugger Albert Pujols hit his 548th homer Wednesday, in the first inning vs. the Jays, and passed Mark McGwire for 10th place all-time.
Rookie Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez did it again, crushing his ninth homer, vs. the Mariners, since being called up from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 3 as part of the Bronx Bombers’ youth movement.
Cubs lefty Kyle Hendricks (12–7, 2.19 ERA) beat the Padres and extended his streak to 17 starts without giving up more than three earned runs, longest for any pitcher this season.
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