Davis On Pins, Needles Without Baseball
Surgeons took the pin out of Russ Davis’ left ankle on Thursday, though they could do nothing to repair the void in his life left by the absence of baseball.
“I love this game, and the last two years I’ve hardly played it,” said Davis, the 26-year-old Seattle third baseman. “After I got hurt last month, I went home for awhile, but I drove my wife crazy. I came back just to stay busy, to be around the guys.”
A year ago, Davis was a reserve with the New York Yankees and, playing behind Wade Boggs, appeared in 40 games. This season, in his 51st game on June 7, he fractured a bone in his left leg trying to make a sliding catch of a foul pop fly in Kansas City.
The damage was more than a broken bone, however - tissue between two bones was destroyed, and a pin was put in the ankle to allow proper healing.
“I’ll get this cast off in 10 days or two weeks and then I can begin rehab work,” Davis said. “I could probably play baseball by September, but there won’t be anywhere to play - the minor leagues are done by then, and I can’t ask for at-bats in a pennant race.
“I’ll shoot for September, but realistically I won’t be part of it.”
Just to stay in touch with the Mariners, Davis has been living alone in Seattle - his wife Adryne is in Alabama, trying to sell their home there. During games in the Kingdome, he watches from the clubhouse, hobbling out to the field on crutches to watch batting practice.
When the team is on the road, he follows them on television.
“I’m getting better physically, it’s the mental aspect that’s tough,” he said. “I went home for a while and I couldn’t wait to come back, lift weights, stay busy. I miss everything about this game.”
Notes
The Tigers are bearing down on a major league record the Mariners would love to see them get - most grand slam home runs allowed in a season. Detroit has allowed nine slams this season, and the big-league record is 10, set by the 1992 Seattle staff.
This could be the last Kingdome appearance for shortstop Alan Trammell, the long-time Detroit infielder who came off the disabled list Thursday - and almost certainly will retire at the end of the season.
Seattle’s ninth-inning, come-frombehind win Wednesday was the team’s sixth this year.
The Mariners commemorative stadium license plates went on sale Wednesday and nearly 600 were sold. By comparison, when the state sold a commemorative Washington State plate, it sold 158 the first day - and sold only 38 University of Washington plates the day that became available.