FanHouse

It's one thing to get hit by a pitch, or hurt yourself crashing into a wall making a catch in the outfield. But it's a completely other thing to get hurt on your own volition. Which is exactly what happened to Matt Holliday who was replaced in the fifth inning of the Rockies 4-2 loss to the Reds Friday night after injuring himself. How did he do it? I'll let Tracy Ringolsby explain from the Rocky Mountain News:

Things are so bad that Matt Holliday, the top run producer, was so frustrated after he popped up on the first pitch with one out and runners on first and third in the third inning that he injured himself. When he tried to bang himself on the head with his helmet, he instead slashed his head by hitting it with the bill. While the Rockies downplayed the seriousness of Holliday's injury, it was severe enough that he came out of the game.

First baseman Todd Helton gave a fruity description of the freak injury:

"I saw him right afterwards, and it looked pretty painful," Helton said. "It was on the top of his head. It was a cantaloupe, grapefruit, I don't know."

Holliday's listed as day-to-day. This has to be driving Clint Hurdle mad. Sometimes injuries are unavoidable, and you just have to live with them. But when they're self-inflicted, unnecessary incidents like this one, it really leaves you scratching your head.

UPDATE: Holliday says this is a false report with misinformation about how he sustained the injury.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)