After an off day Thursday, the Blue Jays returned home Friday for a series against the Seattle Mariners. Excluded from their lineup was starting catcher Russell Martin who would be directed to watching from the dugout. No, R.A. Dickey was not on the mound and no, it was not a scheduled off day for Martin, instead the catcher injured his knee following a ‘sauna mishap’ Friday morning. According to Martin, he spent too much time in the hot sauna and decided to make his way to the shower, next thing he knew he was laying on the shower floor. Light headed, Martin says he collapsed in the shower and injured his left knee in the process. While this injury may make some roll their eyes and say “That’s so Blue Jays”, rest assured this statement is backed up with multiple injury cases throughout the years. Here are some of our favourites over the last five years.

Michael Saunders vs Sprinkler – Spring Training 2015

Coming into spring training 2015, the Blue Jays and company were intrigued by their newly acquired left fielder Michael Saunders. Traded for in hopes of replacing Melky Cabrera, Saunders was looked at as a controllable left fielder with untapped potential – the only catch being Saunders’ immense injury history. The Blue Jays did not have to wait long to feel the wrath of the injury bug that had plagued Saunders throughout his career , on February 26 2015 they announced that Saunders would be out of action until the All Star break after tearing his meniscus by…..tripping on a sprinkler in the outfield. Saunders returned for 9 games in 2015 and it would be fair to say that the sprinkler covered more ground in the outfield than Saunders did.

Kevin Pillar vs Sneezing – Spring Training 2015

2015 Spring Training was the gift that kept giving on the injury front for the Toronto Blue Jays. On March 15 2015, Kevin Pillar decided to give fellow outfielder Michael Saunders a run for his money in hopes of securing the most comedic injury award. Pillar was diagnosed with a grade one oblique strain after sneezing too hard. The man who earned the nickname Superman by Blue Jays fans after crashing into outfield walls and diving face first into turf had succumb to a sneeze, proving that everyone is mortal, even our very own Superman.

Maicer Izturis vs The Stairs – April 2014

Eleven games into his 2014 season, Maicer Izturis found himself batting .286 which surprised many after his dreadful 2013 season. This all came stumbling down on April 14 before a matchup vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Izturis, perhaps too eager from his encouraging start to the season tripped on the dugout stairs and tore his LCL in his left knee, effectively ending his season. Izturis never played again for the Blue Jays and likely still uses escalators to this day when traveling.

Adam Lind & His Mom vs Blue Jays Medical Staff – July 2014

A favourite among Blue Jays fans, the story of Adam Lind’s mother being more competent than the Blue Jays medical staff will never get old. You see, after having lingering pain in his foot for over three weeks, it was suggested that Adam Lind go in for an MRI. This advice was not given by the Blue Jays multi-million dollar medical staff, no, it was given by Lind’s mother. The results: a broken foot. Yes, the Blue Jays medical staff missed a broken foot to their starting first baseman, if not for Lind’s “Mom always knows best” mentality, who knows how this saga would have unfolded. Perhaps we should get Lind’s mom to take a second look at Drew Storen before it’s discovered that his right arm has been broken since April.

Brett Cecil vs His Kitchen I & II – 2010 & 2011

Before Brett Cecil became a dominant reliever for the Blue Jays, he was a young left handed prospect looking to crack the starting rotation. The only thing standing in Cecil’s path was his fellow team mates and his kitchen appliances. In spring training of 2010, Cecil was forced to miss a start after cutting himself while cutting chicken breasts. Cecil would go on to overcome this injury and win 15 games during the 2010 season, but little did he know his troubles with kitchen appliances was far from over.

Cecil was forced to miss another start in September 2011 after slicing his index finger while cleaning out a blender in his kitchen. Cecil’s kitchen seems to be almost as disastrous as Drew Storen entering with an 8th inning lead.

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The Blue Jays seem to lead the league in mouth dropping injuries over the last five years. Neither Mark Shapiro, Ross Atkins or John Gibbons is commenting on how they will address this issue with the trade deadline coming up. Perhaps the Blue Jays will pass on the likes of Andrew Cashner and Carlos Beltran and will instead turn to Home Hardware and inquire about the price of safe kitchen appliances.