San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Olson’s hamate injury recalls Canseco’s in ’89
Thirty years ago this month, Jose Canseco broke the hamate in his left hand, and the American League’s reigning MVP had trouble gripping a bat.
Initial X-rays showed no break. Three weeks later, X-rays showed what was described as a stress fracture. The A’s had Canseco resting and rehabbing. Surgery had been ruled out. He eventually hit off a tee, took batting practice and went on a minor-league assignment.
The pain was too great for Canseco to continue. He did have surgery — two months after the initial injury. He didn’t make his 1989 debut until July 13.
A’s first baseman Matt Olson broke his right hamate March 21 in Tokyo. He underwent sur
gery to remove it the next day in Los Angeles. Olson is the latest in a long line of big-leaguers since Canseco to undergo hamate surgery. Pablo Sandoval had it in each hand, his right in 2011 and left in 2012.
“Canseco’s was the first time we ever heard of it,” A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said. “Nobody really knew what a hamate bone was.”
There was a time when treating hamate fractures meant immobilizing the wrist by splinting and casting. The usual course now is excising the hook of the hamate, and recovery differs from patient to patient. Olson is estimated to be out 6-8 weeks.
Beane, a former outfielder, has firsthand knowledge of the Canseco injury, having spent his final big-league season with the 1989 A’s, a star-studded group that swept the Giants in the World Series.
In retrospect, Beane quips, “I got to come up because of that. Thank goodness for the hamate bone.” Canseco’s absence allowed Beane to spend the season’s first half with the A’s. It must be noted he played in August and September, too.
The All-Star voting that year spoke volumes of Canseco’s popularity. He played zero games for the A’s yet was selected by fans as an American League starting outfielder, along with Bo Jackson and Kirby Puckett.
Canseco didn’t play in the All-Star Game but returned to the lineup right after the break, four months after his injury and two months after surgery.
The eerie thing is that his twin brother, Ozzie, an A’s minor-leaguer at the time, fractured his own hamate, also in his left hand, also in March 1989, also while swinging a bat. He underwent a similar surgery just before his brother (in the same hospital with the same doctors) and played briefly for the 1990 A’s and 1992 and 1993 Cardinals.
This was at a time when Jose Canseco’s driving violations were in the headlines. That he drove a candy-apple red Jaguar didn’t exactly keep him under the radar, and he was arrested at UCSF for having a loaded handgun on the floor of his car on a college campus, where he was visiting to have his hand examined.
Around the majors
New Angels pitcher Chris Stratton, the Giants’ firstround pick in 2012, will make his first appearance in another big-league uniform when he starts Monday in Seattle. The Angels are fond of high spin rate, and Stratton’s pitches spin far more than most – 2,448 revolutions per minute on the fastball and 2,264 on the curve. The Angels, who seem to be obsessed with spin rate, included reliever Luke Bard — who’s spinnier than Stratton and nicknamed the Sultan of Spin by Orange County Register beat writer Jeff Fletcher — on their Opening Day roster. High spin rates don’t mean low ERAs, of course. Bard’s ERA was 5.40 for the Angels last season (eight appearances) and 4.66 in Triple-A (32 appearances). Stratton’s big-league ERA last season was 5.09. The Angels see an upside in both pitchers, especially digging Bard’s strikeout rate. Manager Brad Ausmus said of Stratton, “We think he actually brings more to the table than what has met the eye in the past.”
The Giants traded Stratton late Tuesday night, and the Angels told him not to bother reporting right away. The final Angels-Dodgers exhibition was Wednesday, and Stratton’s new team opened the season Thursday at the Coliseum. “They were nice enough to let me stay,” said Stratton, who got a chance to pack his belongings at his Walnut Creek pad and join his new teammates for the first time at a Wednesday night team dinner. At best, Stratton would have been a long reliever for the Giants. As an Angel, he’s the No. 5 starter. “Definitely excited about it,” he said. “Once the season gets going, it’s not necessarily who’s the one, who’s the five.” It’ll be Stratton’s first visit to the Mariners’ ballpark. He was optioned to Triple-A last July just before the Giants played a series in Seattle.
New A’s first baseman Kendrys Morales has all of six stolen bases in 12 big-league seasons. He had two last year, his first steals since 2009, a year before an ankle injury shelved him nearly two full seasons. One of last year’s steals was a fluke — he was slowing down and giving himself up to draw a throw to second so the runner at third, Kevin Pillar, could try to score, but there was no throw by Minnesota catcher Mitch Garver. Morales was deprived of a steal of home in 2017. In a first-and-third situation, Teoscar Hernandez took off from first but found himself in a rundown as Morales took off for the plate. Morales was safe, but because Hernandez was out, the Morales run was ruled a fielder’s choice. Angels manager Brad Ausmus was the opposing manager with Detroit and said the other day, “I’ve got to be aware of his speed.” Wink, wink.
When the A’s and Mariners went to Japan for a two-game series, the accommodations were top notch. The flight, the hotel, the food. Plus, each player pocketed an extra $60,000. A far cry from the Giants’ trip in 1970 when they were the first big-league team to hold spring training in Japan. It was a two-week goodwill tour, but it did little to prepare the team for the season. The weather and daily travel were bad, and the ball was smaller. Juan Marichal got sick. Willie McCovey got an eye infection. The Giants got off to a rough start and were 19½ games back at the All-Star break. Manager Clyde King was fired in May. And, no, the Giants’ players got no extra money for the Japan trip.
John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey