Feel the pain: Infamous Braves injuries

Atlanta Braves

Feel the pain: Infamous Braves injuries

Braves reliever Jeff Bennett broke his hand hitting a wall Wednesday. But he's not the first Brave to suffer a freak injury.

Braves reliever Jeff Bennett broke his hand punching a door near the dugout at Turner Field. At least, he was smart enough to deliver the blow with his non-pitching hand. But Bennett isn't the first Braves to suffer a freak injury.

On April 16, Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar strained an abdominal muscle while jumping up and down in the on-deck circle.

Cecil Upshaw was one of baseball's earliest closers, and his 27 saves in 1969 were a big reason the Braves won the NL West. A pretty good basketball player too, Upshaw was demonstrating his dunking form to friends when a ring he was wearing caught on an awning. The resulting injury nearly cost Upshaw his finger, and he missed the entire 1970 season. Without him, the Braves floundered to a fifth-place finish.

Even Hall of Famers have their tales of woe. Phil Niekro, who won over 300 games in his career, once injured his knuckleball-throwing hand.... by shaking hands too hard.

Go ahead and Google "weird injuries" and "Terry Harper" and see how many hits come up. The Braves' outfielder was waiting to bat during a game in 1982 when he started frantically waving a base-running teammate home. In the process, Harper dislocated his shoulder. A native of Douglasville, he later coached baseball at Landmark Christian.

Bob Horner was the NL's Rookie of the Year in 1979 and, along with another young superstar, Dale Murphy, gave Braves fans of the early '80s hope that a dynasty was budding. Alas, Horner proved to be as fragile as Murphy was sturdy. Among his many ailments, Horner's broken wrist in 1983 virtually killed the Braves' chances of a second-consecutive NL West title. He was out of the game by 1989.

Nick Esasky's plight wasn't as flukey as Terry Harper's, but it was definitely symbolic of the pre-1991 Braves. The Marietta native was one of the most-coveted free agents of 1990 when he signed a rich deal with the forever-rebuilding Braves. Only nine games into the season, however, the first baseman was diagnosed with vertigo and placed on the disabled list. He never played in the majors again.

In 1992, Tom Glavine broke a rib while vomiting during an episode of food poisoning. Ever the warrior, Glavine pitched through the injury.

Ron Gant was a slugging All-Star outfielder who helped propel the Braves to national prominence during the early 1990s. In 1994, just weeks after signing one of the richest contracts in team history, Gant suffered a broken leg in a motorbike accident. The Braves released him six weeks later.

Curtis Pride was a reserve outfielder for the Braves in 1998. After popping out in a game, he vented his frustration by slamming his bat against the dugout tunnel. The bat shattered, cutitng Pride's hand and putting him on the DL.

Everett Stull had one of the shortest stints in Braves history: one inning. The Stone Mountain native was called up by Atlanta during the 1999 season, and was sitting in the dugout following his outing when he was struck in the head by a line drive. He needed surgery, but eventually recuperated and returned to the majors with Milwaukee.

Did he or didn't he? It's renowned as one of the freakiest injuries in baseball history, but John Smoltz will tell you it never happened. Early in his career, Smoltz missed a start after suffering a burn on his chest. At the time, Braves officials told the AJC that the future Hall of Famer suffered the injury as he ironed his shirt... while wearing it. Smoltz disputes the story to this day.

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Braves reliever Jeff Bennett broke his hand punching a door near the dugout at Turner Field. At least, he was smart enough to deliver the blow with his non-pitching hand. But Bennett isn't the first Braves to suffer a freak injury.

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