As previously reported, Twins infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was injured when Yankee Nick Swisher slid hard into second base to break up a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning. What was not known at the time was the extent of the injury.
While we were told it was his knee or ankle when it occurred, it is, in fact, a broken fibula, the lower leg bone, commonly known as the shin. This type of injury generally requires at least a month out of the lineup to recover. The Twins will promote AAA Rochester second baseman Luke Hughes to fill Nishioka’s spot in the lineup.
From all accounts, the Swisher play is a common occurrence in Major League Baseball, and was not intended as a dirty play by Swisher. It is difficult to fathom, from a mostly outsider’s perspective, how a player sliding into a base with no intention of making it to the base is a legal play.
However, baseball fans tell me they’re OK with it, and that Tsuyoshi should have gotten out of the way. I shall defer to their greater knowledge on the topic. For now, the Twins will need to fill a hole in the infield very early in the season.