Baseball players get the strangest injuries. Household and kitchen missteps, playing too much Guitar Hero, spending too much time in the tanning bed…. yes, those all really happened! Well, now we can add Braves shortstop Erick Aybar to the list.
Aybar was taken out of tonight’s lineup for Atlanta’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates because he got a chicken bone stuck in his throat when eating lunch.
#Braves SS Erick Aybar got a chicken bone stuck in throat at lunch, taken to doctor to be sedated and have it removed.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 19, 2016
Aybar was originally in the lineup but had a chicken bone stuck in his throat. Taken to local doctor to have it removed. #Braves
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) May 19, 2016
I know, fairly ridiculous story, right? You’re probably laughing at this story and there’s a good probability you’ll share it with friends or make a witty little comment on social media about the Braves “choking” or Aybar needing a “wingman.” But according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aybar’s situation actually sounded kinda scary and not quite the slapstick comedy bit you’re probably imagining:
“He got a bone or something stuck in his throat, and I think they’re going to have to sedate him to get it out,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “That poor guy had to be scared to death. He looked OK when he left, but I don’t think he’s feeling very good. Let’s just hope everything works out all right.”
One Braves player said there was some blood coming from Aybar’s mouth, and that the bone was so deep in his throat that he couldn’t lift his shoulder because of the discomfort.
Here is where I would normally add a lame joke onto the end of this post, but this is serious business. I actually had to leave a wedding once after swallowing a chicken bone. The only thing worse than thinking you were going to choke to death and not being able to breathe is dealing with all the people laughing at you.
Come to think of it, that’s a fairly perfect sentence to describe the 2016 Atlanta Braves season.
(I’m sorry)
[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
