Detroit Tigers rookie lefthander Drew Smyly left Sunday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds after three innings with an injury.
Drew Smyly Leaves Game With ‘Ugly’ Blister
Manager Jim Leyland said he’d never seen a blister as bad as the one on Drew Smyly’s left hand.
Not news, right? Happens all the time to starting pitchers.
Well, it is news, because it was due to a blister the likes of which veteran baseball men had not seen before. Jason Beck:
As soon as he got to the dugout, he went to head athletic trainer Kevin Rand.
Once they went to manager Jim Leyland, he couldn’t believe what he saw.
"It’s the worst one I’d ever seen in my life," said Leyland, who immediately called for Luis Marte to begin warming in the bullpen.
Rand, a longtime trainer in the big leagues, said it was "right there" among the biggest he had seen.
Blisters can be nasty things for pitchers. They can’t grip baseballs or throw them properly; some pitchers have missed several weeks with blisters. For Smyly, though, this apparently isn’t a big deal:
However, Smyly said he dealt with blisters several times in college and once last year at Class A Lakeland. Warm, humid weather, such as Sunday’s conditions in Cincinnati, seem to bring it out.
Judging from past blisters, Smyly doesn’t expect this should prevent him from making his next start.
If it does, though, Smyly would likely be replaced by... (you know this is coming, right?) ... Doug Fister. "Fister For Blisters." Could be a new slogan. (Or not.)
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