LAKELAND, Fla. -- Travis Wood has used two catchers during bullpen sessions this week in spring training.
One receives his pitch; another player stands next to him to catch the return throw and flip him the ball.
It's a cumbersome process but a minor inconvenience compared to what could have been.
Wood, a Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher, nearly lost his right index finger last month when it was sliced open by a string from a crossbow.
If it had happened to the other hand, his career might be over.
Wood was in the backyard of his home in Arkansas, preparing the bow for a deer-hunting trip with his 7-year-old son (who, thankfully, was at school at the time).