Baseball DIY

Sometimes bad things happen to good baseball players.

Fans around the St. Louis area have known this for years. In 2000, Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny severely cut his hand opening a hunting knife that he received as a gift, ending his season and keeping him out of the playoffs. On at least one occasion, J.D. Drew hurt himself on the dugout steps during his tenure in St. Louis. The 1985 Cardinals were without the services of speedster Vince Coleman in the World Series thanks to an unfortunate run-in with an automatic tarp machine. And though this may not count as an honest-to-goodness injury, Cardinals hurler Flint Rhem missed time during the 1930 pennant race because, he alleged, gamblers kidnapped him and forced him to drink bootleg whiskey for two days.

Now the St. Louis Unions have been dealt their first dumb-luck injury, and it couldn’t have happened to a better ballplayer. Private Matt “Scoops” Lurk, 2005 recipient of the Unions’ Silver Striker Award and superlative shortstop, was unintentionally struck on the right hand by an aluminum bat-wielding youngster at a batting cage on March 18. The blow chipped a bone below the knuckle of his little finger.

Lurk is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks, which puts him on schedule to return on May 6 against the Murphysboro Clarkes. A platoon of Corporal Eric “Buttermilk” Ferguson and others will hold down the fort at short until Scoops’ return. How the Unions will compensate for the lack of his offensive skills remains to be seen.

Though the injury could have been worse, in terms of both damage done and time missed, it serves as a reminder of the necessity of proper safety measures in baseball. The St. Louis Unions remind all baseball players to use the proper caution and common sense whenever they handle a bat, whether it be wooden or (if absolutely necessary) aluminum.