If you’re an athlete the number one thing you want to avoid is injuries. A lot of times even when you suffer one it doesn’t affect you long-term and you can be back out playing again in no time but not everyone is so lucky.
That’s why we’re going to go over 10 times injuries ruined MLB careers.
Dustin Pedroia
From 2006 – 2016 Pedroia was on pace for a potential Hall of Fame bid when it came time to retire. He sat with a slash line of .301/.366/.445 with an OPS+ of 115. In 2007 he won Rookie of the Year and followed that up in 2018 by winning the AL MVP. Add in four All-Star appearances he was one of the best second baseman in MLB.
Unfortunately, everything would derail in 2017 after a brutal collision at second base with Manny Machado that many considered a dirty play by Machado. After receiving knee surgery after the 2017 season he was never the same. In 2018 and 2019 he had only 31 at-bats and on February 1, 2021, he announced his retirement.
Mike Trout
Before we get into why Mike Trout is on this list, know that in no way is Mike Trout not one of the greatest players in MLB history. With that being said, he has played in 140 games just once in 2018 for the past seven years. His stretch from 2012 to 2016 is historical as he walked away with five All-Stars, a Rookie of the Year, and two MVPs. He did this in a five-year stretch playing 771 games.
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From 2017 to 2023 he has played in 677 games making six All-Star games and one MVP. With Trout being placed on the IL on July 4, 2023, it’s not known whether or not he will return for the remainder of the season. To sum up, Trout being on this list he only makes it because it’s hard to imagine just how insane his career would look without injuries.
Troy Tulowitzki
Tulowitzki is a player who struggled with injuries practically his whole career starting all the way back in 2008. By the time he retired in 2019, he had played in 150 games in just two seasons in 2009 and 2007. Even with his struggle, he was still a great player making five All-Star games in his career while also winning a pair of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers.
What’s most impressive is he was still a career above-average hitter with a 118 OPS+. Unfortunately, his 44.5 WAR isn’t good enough to make it to Cooperstown which makes you wonder if the injuries held him back from such an amazing achievement.
Kris Bryant
Bryant is the only one on this list to currently be playing so he has time to turn it around but I wouldn’t hold your breath. After winning Rookie of the Year in 2015 and MVP in 2016 many already believed Bryant to be one of the best players in MLB. From 2015 – 2021 he was an above-average hitter with an OPS+ of 132 and a 28.8 WAR which is on pace for a Hall-of-Fame career.
In 2022 the Colorado Rockies gave Bryant a 7-year $182 million deal and he has not lived up to it. His 107 games have seen him hitting at an OPS of .770 and just thirteen home runs. If Bryant doesn’t figure out how to string a long season together soon he could shoot to number one on this list.
Eric Davis
Davis may have had a 17-year career but never played in over 140 games once in a season. In fact, in eight different seasons, he played in less than 100 games. Despite all of this he was still named to two All-Star games and won two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves. His long battle of injuries that included bruised ribs, and a lacerated kidney among others effectively ruined his chance to be an all-time great.
In 1989 we got to see the true potential of Davis as he slashed .281/.367/.451 while hitting 34 home runs, 101 runs batted in and 74 runs scored. In six other seasons where he played over 120 games, he had more than a .800 OPS in each. So when Davis played a lot he played extremely well which just makes him battle with injuries that much worse.
Grady Sizemore
In his first four full seasons at the MLB level, Sizemore averaged 160 games a year and made three All-Star games. Unfortunately, in 2009 after struggling throughout the season Sizemore had surgery on his left elbow that sidelined him for the rest of the year. This would start a long string of injuries for Grady because, in the next four years, he played in over 100 games just once.
This would mark the end of what was once an extremely promising career as Sizemore would never make it back to being an above-average hitter and had his last MLB appearance on October 3, 2015.
Brandon Webb
As a result of his 33 WAR accumulated over the course of seven years, Brandon Webb was on track to become one of baseball’s legends. In 1319.2 innings pitched he had a 3.27 ERA while winning Cy Young in 2006 and finishing second in 2007 and 2008. By 2009 he had shoulder surgery that would allow him to pitch just 4 innings for the whole season.
That would prove to be his final appearance for any MLB team as he would retire from baseball in 2013 after trying to make a comeback with the Rangers in 2010 but wouldn’t make it to the majors. Another surgery in 2011 effectively flipped the switch on what could have been an all-time career.
Sandy Koufax
Koufax started his career in 1955 but would truly take off in 1961 after naming his first All-Star game. Afterward, he won three Cy Youngs, an MVP award, and made five more All-Star appearances. This stretch saw him lead all of MLB in ERA in four consecutive seasons.
Despite being one of MLB’s best pitchers, he retired after 1966 due to elbow pain. He would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972 but many speculate he could be considered the greatest pitcher of all time if not for injuries.
Darryl Strawberry
The first nine seasons of his career saw Darryl averaging 139 games a season while winning Rookie of the Year and being named to eight All-Star games. Things would take a sharp turn from 1992 to 1999 however because he would average just 42 games a season for the rest of his career.
His list of injuries and abuse of cocaine and alcohol would tarnish such a young promising career. In his first nine years, he had a WAR of 40.3 and in the last eight he had just 1.9 giving him a career total of 42.2
Albert Belle
In 2001 the Baltimore Orioles announced that Belle had a degenerative hip condition that would effectively form him into retirement. This news came completely out of the blue as Belle had averaged 128 per season from 1989 – 2000. He had a career OPS+ of 144 in 6676 plate appearances while making five All-Star games and winning two Silver Sluggers.
While still being a well above-average hitter in 2000 Belle would never see another plate appearance for the rest of his career.
