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Melvin calls Snelling injury ‘unlucky’

Published 9:00 pm Friday, February 27, 2004

By Kirby Arnold / Herald Writer

PEORIA, Ariz. – There ought to be a song about Chris Snelling.

The hamate bone is connected to the hand bone, the hand bone is connected to the wrist bone …

Dem bones are killing Snelling.

The Seattle Mariners’ 22-year-old outfield prospect is broken down again.

Snelling aggravated an old injury to the hamate bone near the base of his right hand during batting practice Thursday, had surgery Friday and will miss about six weeks.

Dr. Beth Purdy, with Mariners medical director Dr. Larry Pedegana observing, removed the hook of the hamate bone at a Phoenix-area hospital.

The bone had been broken previously and was irritating a tendon when Snelling swung a bat. He took just a few swings Thursday on the first day of full-squad workouts and pulled out of batting practice because of the pain.

“It’s unfortunate because he was really excited about being healthy and finally getting to compete here,” Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. “And then two or three swings into batting practice he’s got another surgery. He’s down (emotionally), understandably.”

It’s the latest in a line of injuries that go back to Snelling’s early days in the organization. After a healthy season with the Everett AquaSox in 1999, he:

  • Suffered a broken left hand and, after recovering from that, ligament damage in his left hand in 2000 while at Class A Wisconsin.

  • Fractured his right ankle in August, 2001, and missed the rest of the season at Class A San Bernardino.

  • Was called up to the Mariners in May, 2002, but tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while running the bases in just his eighth major league game, costing him the rest of the season.

  • Began the 2003 season on the disabled list because of the ACL injury, then played at Class AA San Antonio and Class AAA Tacoma before suffering another knee injury in August. He tore the medial collateral ligament and missed the rest of the season, although he didn’t require surgery.

    Snelling said he felt 100 percent going into spring training, but took a swing Thursday and went to the training room. It’s an injury that has afflicted numerous hitters, including Ken Griffey Jr. in 1996 when he played for the Mariners. Griffey missed 23 days.

    “I saw Erubiel Durazo do it a couple of years ago,” said Melvin, who was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ bench coach when Durazo played there. “The guys who get way down on the end of the bat, they get the knob right there (at the base of the palm) and sometimes it just goes.”

    Melvin had hoped to get a good look at Snelling in spring training because he hasn’t seen him play yet. He said this injury shouldn’t reinforce the notion that Snelling is injury-prone.

    “This one has got to go under being unlucky,” Melvin said. “It’s a common injury and just the timing of it makes it looks like he’s injury prone. He’s still a young kid. He’s down about it now because he’s been inactive for a year and three-quarters.”

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