Robinson Cano Breaks Toe In Japan

Lately the news has been dominated by something most unlikely and grotesque – Jose Canseco‘s mutilated, disgusting, here-today-gone-tomorrow middle finger, which he accidentally shot off a few weeks ago. Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano decided to get in on the injured digit-action, but in a much less horrific (and career-threatening) way.

Cano suffered a broken toe during last night/this morning’s MLB-Japan All-Star Series game. He was hit by a pitch from Samurai Japan reliever Yuki Nishi in the seventh inning of what went on to be a 4-0 loss in which the Japanese pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter. The injury isn’t expected to keep him sidelined for more than a month, and won’t be a problem at all by the time spring training rolls around.

The Japan Series is winding down, and if American nationalism’s your thing, you might want to pretend none of this ever happened. The MLB team is in an 0-3 hole and thus will lose the series, having been shut down by the Japanese all-star team known as Samurai Japan. A great showing for Japanese baseball, which is probably healthier overall for the future of this series. But a slight disappointment for baseball-starved fans in the United States.

For Mariners fans, it’s been extra-brutal. Hisashi Iwakuma got the opportunity to start a game in his hometown of Tokyo, and celebrated by giving up five runs on ten hits over four innings. The MLB side lost that game, of course. Then the team’s best player, fresh off the highest MVP finish of any Mariner since Ichiro won the award in 2001, had his pinky toe broken.

The good news is that Iwakuma was just happy to be there and Cano will sit for a month before presumably continuing his offseason as normal. Broken toes are generally no big deal – you’ve probably broken a toe before, and maybe/probably didn’t even realize right away – but this is Robinson Cano we’re talking about. Cano’s one of the most important Mariners ever. When he breaks his toe, we all gasp in shock and horror.

So for now, nothing to worry about. Good luck to Mr. Cano in his recovery from an injury that will hopefully soon prove to be forgettably minor.