Padres general manager Josh Byrnes: Guns 'a big problem'

Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

NASHVILLE - San Diego Padres general manager Josh Byrnes, who lost one of his top pitchers, Andrew Cashner, for up to six months after a hunting accident last week, worries about the rash of baseball players who are involved with guns and hunting in the offseason.

"As a GM, I am concerned,'' Byrnes said. "You're dealing with young guys, and obviously, we can control things on the job, but away from it, we hope they make the right decisions.

"I don't know if athletes are predisposed to guns or not, but it's certainly something that concerns you.''

Cashner suffered a lacerated tendon in his right thumb in a hunting accident last week, and underwent surgery Tuesday. He won't be able to pitch until May or June, Byrnes said.

Cashner, an avid hunter, was accidentally stabbed in the hand by a friend while the pair were dressing meat, trimming the carcass.

The injury may have been the direct result of a knife wound, but realistically, Byrnes said, it was caused because of a hunting trip with guns.

MLB has long been associated with a hunting culture. This week, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum revealed that former teammate Robin Yount accidentally shot him in the right ear on a recent quail hunt. And Byrnes spoke out on guns after one of his pitchers, Cashner, lacerated a tendon in his right thumb with a knife after a deer hunt this offseason.

But Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren argues that hunting lends itself to experience with guns.

"What's different is that the hunting culture for the most part are the most gun-savvy and the most careful and cautious of any group of gun owners," says Wren. "And we're also not talking about handguns. That's a whole other class that we don't see."

Wren has plenty of experience on his teams with avid hunters, among them recently retired star Chipper Jones and former Braves first baseman Adam Laroche. Wren recalls them often setting up targets under the stadium where the grounds crew stores sand and practicing with bows and arrows. But he says in his 25 years with several franchises, he's never come across issues with players and guns. He says part of that stems from many players coming from Sun Belt states, where guns are often introduced in childhood.

"The first thing you do as a kid in the South is go take a gun safety course," Wren says.