Hangnails, paper cuts, crick in the neck… annoying and painful little things for everyone, but in reality these little things are not a big deal, we can cut the hangnail, put a Band-Aid on the cut and be out of the crick in a few minutes . But professional baseball players are different. It seems like it’s always MLB players who hear about missing a game for something we would consider trivial. Like Ubaldo Jimenez, who was placed on the disabled list by a stepfather last year. Either that or they foolishly get injured, sacrificing playing time for which they are paid millions.

Pitchers who have a blister on their pitching hand are considered serious enough to sit a couple games on the disabled list, because it can really affect their throwing. Pitcher Clay Buchholz apparently has a chronic blister problem according to the Boston Red Sox’s disabled list, and last year NBC Hardball talk reported that the Chicago Cubs’ Kerry Wood pitched through a blister (and was fine) before being placed on the disabled list for about a week. . While we know blisters can be painful, it’s definitely only in MLB that players can sit through it.

On a funnier note, historically there have been some pretty ridiculous injuries that players have acquired. Sammy Sosa once sneezed violently on the sidelines and missed the rest of the game due to back spasms. Matt Latos tensed his left side holding back a sneeze… who knows what would have happened if he had let it go! Russel Branyan once stubbed his toe while closing his hotel curtains and was on the disabled list for two days in 2010. Ken Griffey Jr. missed a game when his cup slipped and pinched his testicle and in 1990 outfielder Glenallen Hill, a Blue Jays rookie at the time, was unable to play because he was injured while trying to escape a nightmare about spiders.

So there are the understandable, pathetic, and just plain silly injuries in baseball. It’s not like we’ve ever heard of NFL, NBA, or NHL players doing something small like this and not getting over it. Muscle tears, surgeries, and broken bones are another ball game (pun intended), but come on, MLB… a hangnail or a stubbed toe? Looks like it’s time to toughen up.

For more crazy injuries click http://www.stevetheump.com/strange_injuries.htm