Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger left Wednesday night's game against the Pirates with a fracture in his right hand. Clevenger suffered the injury after the hand was struck by a foul tip.
Even before the official diagnosis of a broken third metacarpal on his right hand, the injury to Steve Clevenger looked serious simply judging by his reaction to it. Major League Baseball catchers are tough individuals that aren’t ones to make a great display after taking any of the assorted forms of punishment that are common with the most physically demanding position in baseball.
So when Clevenger’s right hand was struck by a foul tip off the bat of Gregory Polanco in the third inning and he crumpled over in agony, this wasn’t some minor bump or bruise associated with the position that could be overcome by rubbing a little dirt on it.