Josh Hamilton breaks arm
After sliding head first into third and diving into home plate earlier in the day in Detroit, Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton will now 
head to the disable list after breaking his upper right arm.
After the Rangers’ 5-4 defeat to the Tigers, Hamilton was wearing a sling after the game. He was trying to score in the first inning, after tagging up from third base on a ball caught in foul territory in front of Detroit’s dugout.
Hamilton mentioned after the game that he was sent home by third-base coach Dave Anderson because Detroit pitcher Brad Penny wasn’t covering home plate. At the same time, catcher Victor Martinez and third baseman Brandon Inge chased down Adrian Beltre’s popup.
Inge made the catch and tossed it to Martinez, who was racing home, and was able to tag out Hamilton as he made a headfirst dive.
Anderson said he would have preferred that Hamilton hadn’t dived in headfirst.
This was a devastating loss for the Rangers, who were 9-2 after the loss. Though last year’s AL MVP had not hit a home run yet, he was hitting .333. Now he won’t be able to swing a bat for a month, according to general manager Jon Daniels. The injury is being termed a non-displaced fracture of the humerus bone.
The fracture was small enough that it wasn’t detected on an X-ray, but Daniels held a conference call about two hours after the game with results from an MRI exam.
Chris Davis will be called up from Triple-A Round Rock to take Hamilton’s roster spot.
This also means David Murphy will see more time in the outfield. First baseman Mitch Moreland can also play the outfield and is now the fourth outfielder. Davis is not expected to play the outfield but would play primarily at first base.
Hamilton has had some freakish injuries throughout his turbulent career. He missed most of last September after hitting a wall at Target Field in Minnesota and cracking a few ribs. He was healthy in time for the postseason and was the ALCS MVP in the club’s six-game win over the Yankees.
Last year, Hamilton hit .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2010.
Popularity: 1% [?]
