Kendrys Morales hit a pinch-hit walk-off home run in the tenth inning Sunday to give his Seattle Mariners a win over the Oakland Athletics. That's the kind of moment deserving of a home-plate stomping celebration. But it didn't happen on Sunday for Morales. He's learned his lesson about that sort of thing.
Let's back up for a moment and look at the only other time in his career that Morales hit a walk-off homer. This was in 2010 when he played for the Los Angeles Angels and as you'll see, he took a big celebratory hop on the plate. Then things got ugly and fractured.
You may know what happened next, it's one of baseball's historically dumb injury stories: Morales missed the rest of that season with an lower leg/ankle fracture, then missed the next season with complications from that injury. A season and a half lost, because of a celebration. It derailed what looked like a promising career, one that Morales is hoping to get back on track in Seattle after a decent 2012 in Anaheim.
That brings us to Sunday. Watch Morales as he hits his game-winner and approaches home plate. Baby steps. No hop. Nothing excessive. Just a man who has learned his lesson.
Baseball season's in full swing. Don't miss a thing.
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