Toronto Blue Jays stretch during spring training workouts at Bobby Mattick Training CenterKim Klement
Buck Martinez put it in best perspective.
The Toronto Blue Jays television broadcaster arrived here at Blue Jays spring training Friday morning, along with the rest of the position players, just in time for the first full workout of the spring training marathon.
The knee injury that Toronto leftfielder Michael Saunders suffered on Wednesday when he planted his left foot on top of a sprinkler head in a practice field remains the talk of the town.
The 28-year-old Victoria native tore the meniscus in his left knee that will require surgery. The Blue Jays are saying that he might not be back until around the all-star break, which is in July.
Many have been left wondering about how the Blue Jays could allow their multi-million assets to run around on fields that may not be up to standard.
"It happened to Mantle at Yankee Stadium," Martinez recalled, recalling the injury to Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankees superstar in the 1951 World Series.
Mantle was chasing a fly ball when a cleat on his shoe caught on a piece of the underground lawn sprinkler apparatus in the outfield at the stadium.
Mantle would miss he rest of the series and was plagued by knee problems for the rest of his career.
Martinez's point is, Saunders is not the first athlete to get tripped up in such a fashion, and probably won't be the last. It was just a fluky thing, he said.
Martinez recalled during his playing days how there was a trough that circled the outfield at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City that tripped up many an outfielder.
The atmosphere was light in the Toronto clubhouse as the players readied for their first full-team workout.
Johan Santana, the former Cy Young Award winner who was signed by the Blue Jays to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training, had still not arrived.
Santana has not played since 2012 with the New York Mets and is struggling to come back after shoulder surgery.
"First off, I think as a person he takes the cake," said Toronto catcher Josh Thole, who caught Santana when the two played in New York together. "He's one of the best teammates I've ever played with. And you see what the shoulder injuries he's been through and his career and everything. This guy works as hard as anybody.
"But he also has fun and he keeps the clubhouse loose and keeps the guys having the camaraderie. He really brings it together."
As a pitcher, Thole said his numbers speak for itself.
"Obviously, here, the close of his career, he's been battling more injuries," Thole said. "He's trying to stay healthy. But I caught him in '12 and, you know, he obviously didn't have the Johan change-up when he was in Minnesota winning those Cy Young's.
"But he still had a change-up that was unbelievable."