Dislocated arm?

Question

I may be out of my mind, but I think I remember a pitcher (possibly for the Devil Rays) who threw out his arm literally while on the mound. Does anybody know if this actually happened? Thanks

Answer 1

Dravecky had some form of cancer in his shoulder, and simply could not regain enough strength. He made a bold comeback, but in his second appearance, his pitching motion broke his arm. Eventually the arm was amputated altogether as the cancer resurged. He's fine now.

The D'Rays pitcher you're thinking of is Tony Saunders. His arm broke while throwing a pitch in 1999. He made a brief comeback in the minors in 2000 but his arm broke again. Saunders surfaced one final time in 2005 with the Orioles, pitched one inning in spring training, then spent the season in the minors but never got into a game. He did pitch in an independent league, but is now retired for good.

Majors: http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/saundto01.shtml

Minors: http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=27753

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Saunders

I've dislocated my left shoulder (after the first time, subsequent recurrences are easier, but it hasn't popped out in years now), and while it was no fun at all, I'd rather have that than an actual broken bone.

Answer 2

You may be thinking of Dave Dravecky whose arm snapped on the mound. They said you could hear it and he went down like he had been shot. It was a horrible thing. He later wrote a book. He did not play for the Devil Rays.

Answer 3

I remember a pitcher for SF that came back from cancer and snapped his arm (draveky?) and another that broke his arm (browning?) back in the 80s, but not for Tampa.