DETROIT (AP) - Josh Hamilton was in the clubhouse with his Texas teammates, trying to stay hopeful a day after finding out he could miss two months with a broken arm.
“Obviously, I’d like to be out there playing with them, but it’ll be fun to watch them the next few weeks,” Hamilton said. “I’ll work hard and do what I need to do to get back as soon as I can.”
Hamilton broke his upper right arm on a headfirst dive into home plate Tuesday at Detroit.
The Rangers put him on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, but the reigning AL MVP is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a non-displaced fracture of the humerus bone at the top of his right arm, just below the shoulder. He isn’t expected to swing a bat for a month.
Hamilton tried to score from third on a foul popup. He called the daring dash “stupid” after Tuesday’s game and said third-base coach Dave Anderson told him to go. He said Wednesday he doesn’t hold Anderson responsible for the injury.
“People are going to say that I’m throwing my coach under the bus or whatever, but I’m just telling you what happened,” Hamilton said. “I listened to my coach and went. I don’t blame Dave for this happening.”
Texas recalled infielder Chris Davis from Triple-A Round Rock.
Hamilton hit .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2010. He’s hitting .333 this season, and his spot in the lineup will be difficult to fill. Manager Ron Washington said the injury likely will mean a bigger role for outfielder David Murphy, who started in left field Wednesday against the Tigers.
Michael Young takes Hamilton’s No. 3 spot in the batting order after hitting fifth for eight of the first 11 games.
“We’re going to put nine guys out there and we’re going to go after it and see if we can hold this thing together,” Washington said.
The injury occurred Tuesday after Adrian Beltre lifted a foul pop near the Tigers’ dugout. Hamilton was on third base, having just made a headfirst slide on an RBI triple in the first inning.
Third baseman Brandon Inge and catcher Victor Martinez both chased the ball, leaving the plate unprotected. Inge made the catch, Hamilton tagged up and took off. Inge tossed to Martinez, who scampered back in time to tag Hamilton.
“It was a hell of a play,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday. “We should have had two guys there. We really didn’t have anybody there. … It’s a shame he got hurt.”
Hamilton said afterward the play was “way too aggressive” _ but Anderson said the team’s style isn’t going to change.
“It’s an aggressive play that we tried to do and it didn’t work. That took us a long way last year _ a lot of those plays that we did. That’s part of our game,” Anderson said. “If he doesn’t get hurt, then we’re not even talking about this right now. He’s out at home plate, we go back out. … My job at third base is two things: Make sure they get the signs, and try to score as many runs as we can possibly score.”
Washington wasn’t going to second-guess his slugger too much.
“He could have slid feet first and broken his ankle,” Washington said. “Anything can happen.”
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