Diamondbacks mindful of staying safe after Bumgarner’s dirt-bike accident

Basketball is off-limits. So is getting on the water to wakeboard.

And sliding down a mountain on skis, which Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has never done.

“I’m not going to try until my career’s over,” he said.

Avoiding certain activities isn’t unusual for baseball players who, like Goldschmidt, are mindful of the danger they could present to their health, which is paramount to staying on the field and having a chance at a lengthy career.

But they also aren’t bubble-wrapped when they’re off the clock, a reality that was highlighted Friday when news surfaced Giants ace Madison Bumgarner suffered a separated shoulder and bruised ribs from a dirt-bike accident during a recent off-day.

So striking that balance between living life and being safe is a judgment call each player has to make.

“You can’t just sit back and be scared of everything,” Goldschmidt said. “But you try to be smart, as well, and not take too many crazy risks.”

Deciding what’s doable isn’t always clear-cut.

Goldschmidt has previously gone snowmobiling, which he didn’t think was dangerous – until riding changed his mind. “I’m glad I didn’t get hurt,” he said. Third baseman Jake Lamb enjoyed snowboarding but gave it up once he started playing collegiately because he knew he’d want to barrel down the mountain too fast. Even now, he might skip a trip with his buddies in the offseason because he knows he won’t be able to participate.

“Your body is Number 1,” Lamb said. “If you can’t be on the field, you’re worth nothing. So I’m not going to go risk that. What other guys do – I’m sure guys do it in the offseason. I just know me, and I know how I used to snowboard.”

Left-hander Robbie Ray liked to ride dirt bikes and four-wheelers when he was younger. Center fielder A.J. Pollock has stopped skiing.

“I could do a lot of that after baseball,” Pollock said. “I love being around mountains, but it’s just not worth it.”

Accidents can still happen; in 2013, then-Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy missed a start after cutting his right index finger while washing a knife. The season before that, catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s wife accidentally knocked over a suitcase that fell on Lucroy’s hand and broke it. And former Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain dislocated his ankle that same season while jumping on the trampoline with his son.

“You can walk to the ballpark and fall off a curb or something, twist your ankle,” Ray said. “There’s stuff you can cut out and you can be smart about, but there’s also things you can’t control.”

Manager Torey Lovullo called Bumgarner’s injury “very unfortunate” for the Giants while also mentioning players’ ability to unplug away from the field as what makes them great.

“I always encourage our guys to get away from the game on their off-days,” he said, “but be smart about what they’re going to be doing.”

Prohibited activities can be written in contracts, language that outlaws certain sports, but players also acknowledged that staying safe is expected.

“You should know,” Pollock said. “I’d be really embarrassed to tell the team I went skiing and hurt myself. It’s just I don’t want to have to go through that conversation.”

Insight from La Russa

With his first homestand and road trip in the books, Lovullo said he continues to learn every day amid the “whirlwind” of his first season at the helm of the Diamondbacks.

And Chief Baseball Analyst Tony La Russa has helped during the transition, with the two talking Thursday and visiting a couple times during the team’s opening homestand.

“He will give great advice and always supporting some of the things that are going on here,” Lovullo said. “But in the same vein, he’s not afraid to say, ‘Hey look, this is what should have happened or what could have been a little bit different.’ But always very supportive and always somebody that’s giving me some really good advice.”

Inching forward

Lovullo and some players were sporting T-shirts Friday embossed with the slogan, “Win an inch.”

“It’s not about an inch fair or foul or getting thrown out by an inch,” Lovullo said. “It’s about the placement of so many inches on a field that you can’t possibly count that we want to make sure we’re prepared to win. That means more or less taking care of your business to win that moment.”

Greinke gets his gold

During pregame ceremonies, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke was formally presented with his 2016 Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

It’s the third time the right-hander has received the honor in his career and he looked absolutely delighted about hoisting it up and posing for photos with it as well.

Greinke will next pitch on Monday night when the Diamondbacks host the Padres for the start of a four-game series at Chase Field.