This is somewhat remarkable. And maybe better explained by cultural differences than, say, manners, because my God who ever expects an injured player to apologize? I mean, at least if he didn’t get injured from tomfoolery instead of bad luck.
But that’s what Tanaka has done, in a statement he released a few minutes ago:STATEMENT FROM YANKEES RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER MASAHIRO TANAKA
“As recently announced from the team, I will be going through some treatment and rehab on my injured elbow over the next several weeks. I give everything I have every time I take the ball. With that, I also know that there will always be a risk of injury when playing this game that I love. Right now I feel that the most important thing for me is to keep my head up, remain focused on the task at hand and devote all my energy into healing the injury in order to come back strong.
“I want to apologize to the Yankees organization, my teammates and our fans for not being able to help during this time. I accept this injury as a challenge, but I promise to do everything I can to overcome this setback and return to the mound as soon as possible.”
Um, we forgive you?
Dude, get better soon. You’re way too cool not to be pitching.