Griffey comes clean about hand injury

[|BengalsFREAK|]

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Back in the day when there was roughhousing going on, your mother might say, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye."
Or, maybe until a hand breaks.

Ken Griffey Jr. fully understands.

After months of rampant speculation, the Reds center fielder revealed that he broke his left hand in December while wrestling with his three children on the family yacht in the Bahamas.

Griffey explained that he was wrestling with his two youngest children, Tevin and Taryn, when then-12-year-old son Trey joined in. It was at that point when an awkward fall had the elder Griffey land on his left throwing hand.

"He just doesn't know his own strength yet," Griffey said of Trey, now 13. "He's at that age where he's getting to be a man. A little leverage and a little height helped. I also didn't want to land on my four-year-old, too."

Trey took the accident hard, but Griffey was quick to offer his son consolation.

"It was one of those things. We were messing around, and he got me," Griffey said. "I just told him it was an accident. 'I'm your dad, better me than you.' It's going to happen."

Like he did on Friday, Griffey again denied that the injury happened doing something risky such as riding a motorcycle or any other activity that might be considered a breach of his contract.

"It's not like I went to a bar and tried to clear out the place," Griffey said. "It was a home accident. That's all it was."

Griffey was placed in a hard cast for a few weeks following the injury. The cast has since come off, and the 37-year-old has been seen in the clubhouse frequently performing hand and wrist exercises. On Saturday, he was holding a bat and shifting it back and forth in his hand.

Although he reported the hand as feeling fine, a complete update on Griffey's hand won't be available until he meets with team medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. That is expected to happen soon.

Because he missed the end of '06 with an injured toe, Griffey was one of only two Reds position players permitted to work out under club supervision with pitchers and catchers; the other is outfielder Josh Hamilton.

Griffey batted .252 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs in 109 games last season. His 563 career home runs has him tied for 10th all-time with Reggie Jackson.


Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Jason]

[quote]After months of rampant speculation, the Reds center fielder revealed that he broke his left hand in December while wrestling with his three children on the family yacht in the Bahamas.[/quote]

If someone is going to get hurt in the offseason, that's the way to do it. Playing with your kids.

[Fat Burger]

I agree. I just don't know why he waited so long to let it out. If my kid broke my hand while wrestling around, I'd tell everyone.