A Crack, A Scream, A Season Over For Smiley

John Smiley was finishing his warmups in the bullpen, tossing a curveball.

Bystanders then heard a crack. Then a horrifying scream.

The Cleveland pitcher broke his arm near the shoulder, plunging him into instant, agonizing pain.

“I’d never seen anything like it,” Indians pitching coach Mark Wiley said.

“My stomach turned,” said relief pitcher Jason Jacome.

Smiley, a 32-year-old left-hander who figured in the Indians’ postseason plans, was preparing to face Kansas City on Saturday night in his first start since tendinitis in his left shoulder and elbow sidelined him Aug. 30.

Now his season, at the very least, is finished.

“Just imagine the shock of it,” pitcher Orel Hershiser said Sunday. “He was near the end of his warm-ups, just about to go into the game. That means he was throwing well, his arm felt good. If you’re getting some pain, you’d be starting to back off. But he was feeling fine and going after it. And then all of a sudden… .”

All the players and coaches in the bullpen turned when they heard the bone snap.

“You could see it was deformed through the skin,” Jacome said. “He was in extreme pain. He was yelling. I’m sure it was agony. I hope I never have to see something like that again.”

Flanked by two trainers, Smiley slowly walked in from the bullpen and was hurried to the hospital

“He screamed and grabbed his arm,” Wiley said. “We just kind of held him until the trainers could get out there for him. He was in tremendous pain.”

An Indians spokesman said Smiley checked out of St. Luke’s Hospital Sunday afternoon but would spend a couple of days in a local hotel before flying home to Pittsburgh because he did not feel like traveling.

“They say he’s OK,” said Hargrove, who must try to fill the sudden hole in his rotation. “I guess he can still hardly believe what happened, just like the rest of us.”

Smiley was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a trade July 31. Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the Reds’ orthopaedic specialist, said Smiley had no problems in Cincinnati that could be linked to the broken arm.

“He had some problems (with stiffness) in the back part of the shoulder, but he’s never had a problem with his arm,” Kremchek said.

Smiley is 11-14 for the season, including 2-4 with Cleveland.

“He had been working so hard to get back and be ready for the play-offs,” said teammate Bip Roberts. “He was really looking forward to the playoffs. It looked like he was getting back into form. I’m glad it didn’t happen while he was out there on the mound for everybody to see.”

Two other major leaguers broke their arms while pitching - Tom Browning and Dave Dravecky.

“You would think there would be some other part of the structure that would break down, the muscles or the ligaments or something else,” Hershiser said.

“It would be interesting to research how many pitchers in baseball have broken their arm. Not just in the big leagues, but high school and college kids, minor leaguers. There are probably more than we know.”

One such episode was enough for Roberts.

“When you see something like that,” he said, “you just thank God for your blessings.”