CHICAGO -- Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner
will miss the rest of the season with a broken right hand.
Hafner suffered the injury on Sept. 1 when Rangers right-hander
C.J. Wilson hit him on the hand with a pitch in the eighth inning.
X-rays were initially negative and Hafner was listed as day to
day. He continued to feel more pain and a second X-ray before
Friday night's game against the Chicago White Sox revealed the
fracture.
Hafner tied a major league record with six grand slams this
season. He hit .308 with 42 home runs and 117 RBI.
"It would've been nice to get a couple chances with the bases
loaded to see what could've happen out of that because I think
that's something that never going to happen in your career,"
Hafner said.
Hafner will travel to Baltimore on Monday to be re-examined by
hand specialist Dr. Tom Graham. Cleveland trainer Lonnie Soloff
doesn't think Hafner will need surgery, calling it a "remote
possibility."
"He's had a great year. It's unfortunate that he's not going to
have the opportunity to finish it off," Indians manager Eric Wedge
said. "He's a tremendous presence in our lineup for not just what
he does, but what [he] does for the people around him."