15 Strangest Athlete Injuries Off The Field

Currently a free agent, the middle infielder had a memorable rookie season, and not for the usual first year in the big leagues reasons. Clint Barmes was on his way to being named the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year until he broke his collarbone in a fall while carrying a package of deer meat given to him by teammate Todd Helton. The injury sidelined Barmes from June all the way until September.

It is usually the violence in video games that is the danger, not the playing of the games themselves. Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya missed the 2006 American League Championship Series due to a sore wrist. In an interview later that winter, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski disclosed the injury was from Zumaya playing the video game Guitar Hero.

The Colorado Avalanche defenseman was selected first overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL Draft, and had a successful rookie season the following year. His first offseason as an NHL pro was not as fruitful, however. During a team golf outing, Johnson tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee when his right foot was caught between the accelerator and brake pedal of his golf cart.

You would think a guy whose profession is driving at insane speeds would be most likely injured on the race track, but that was not the case for Jimmie Johnson. During a celebrity golf tournament, Johnson was admittedly “horsing around” on top of a moving golf cart when it hit a bump and sent Johnson flailing to the ground. The driver broke his wrist and was kept out of competition for four weeks.

The man with one of sport's all-time great names had one of the more embarrassing injuries in hockey’s history. In preparation for the birth of his first child, the goalie was assembling video equipment while sitting on a glass coffee table. The glass broke and his wrist was badly cut as he braced for the fall. He would miss three months with the injury.

Apparently baseball players don’t get enough time in the sun already? Former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Marty Cordova decided he needed to work on his tan and went in for a touch-up at a tanning salon. Of course, Cordova fell asleep in the bed and came out burned. Doctors ordered the outfielder to stay out of the sun for a bit and he would miss the Orioles' next day game.

Former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Steve Sparks attended a motivational speech and demonstration that included a couple of musclemen ripping phonebooks in half. Sparks was compelled to give it a go himself and attempted the feat. The result? A dislocated shoulder and failing to make the team out of Spring Training.

A soccer goalkeeper is supposed to be good with his hands, right? Well, 2002 Spanish national team goalie Santiago Canizares proved that is not always the case. Canizares dropped a bottle of aftershave, shattering the container and sending shards of glass deep into one of his feet. Several tendons in his foot needed to be operated on and Canizares missed the entire world cup later in the year.

The 1989 National League MVP left fielder has had a slew of unusual injuries during his playing career, including straining a rib while vomiting. Even more unusual and, sorry Mr. Mitchell, pretty hilarious is when Mitchell broke a tooth while eating a frozen donut he put in the microwave for too long and hardened. He needed a root canal and later was fitted with a gold tooth.

Sammy Sosa was known as a power hitter, but a power sneezer? “Slammin’ Sammy” sneezed so hard, he triggered back spasms resulting in a strained ligament in his lower back. Sosa was sent to the DL with a case of the sneezes.

In October 2003, former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio placed a stump with an axe in the team’s locker room. The stump and axe were supposed to symbolize the team’s “keep chopping the wood” theme for the season, but that’s not what punter Chris Hanson chopped. After a few teammates took some swings, Hanson followed suit and completely whiffed on one of his swings, striking his foot instead. Hanson missed the remainder of the season.

Season-ending Tommy John surgery was not the only unfortunate thing to happen to pitcher Adam Eaton during his rookie season. While attempting to open a DVD package with a paring knife, Eaton stabbed himself in the stomach. I knew using your teeth was the best method.

There’s a lot of ways to see if an iron is hot enough, right? You could put your hand near it, or you could try it out on clothes, or you could put it on your face. The last option is what former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher chose, and shockingly enough, suffered burns on his face. Seriously, this happened -- it's not a joke.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Glenn Healy was known to jam away on the bagpipes. In 2000, Healy was cutting the bag off of one of his instruments of choice and slipped and sliced open the thumb on his left hand. Luckily for Healy, the injury occurred in the offseason, so the 10 stitches he required did not cause him to miss any time on the ice.

Suffering from an intense condition of arachnophobia sounds like no fun at all. Glenallen Hill was placed on the 15-day disabled list following a nightmare involving spiders. Hill sustained cuts on his feet, arms and knees during the violent nightmare, which caused him to jump out of bed, bang into a glass table, and fall down a staircase. Adding insult to injury, the incident led to Hill being nickname “Spiderman.”