Tampa Bay Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks is sporting a pretty nasty black eye, but the explanation for the injury is a hilarious one.
Fairbanks revealed that he got the injury while slam dunking on his three-year-old son in a swimming pool, and had a great way of retelling the story.
“We were playing in our pool and I pulled the pool basketball hoop down on my face after dunking on a three-year-old to kind of teach him an early lesson in life, that when you’re in the paint you cannot be caught unawares underneath the rim,” Fairbanks said. “Did that end up with me with a black eye? Yes. It was fun. My wife has been making fun of me about it, as has pretty much everybody here.”
Fairbanks did add that he had no regrets, mostly because the ball went through the hoop.
There is precedent for pitchers working despite having a black eye, but this is definitely one of the funnier explanations for this kind of injury. Hopefully the three-year-old learned the intended lesson.
Fairbanks has been excellent for the Rays at the back of the bullpen this year, posting a 1.54 ERA in 13 appearances.
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