On Friday we learned Giants ace Madison Bumgarner will miss an undisclosed length of time after suffering a shoulder injury in a dirt bike accident in Colorado. He was hurt during an off-day prior to a series against the Rockies in Coors Field.
With his left arm on a sling, Bumgarner spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since the accident, though he did not reveal a timetable for his return. He did, however, personally apologize to each of his teammates.
Bumgarner says he's feeling a little better each day. Apologized to teammates 1 on 1. Says he's crashed before as a kid but nothing serious. pic.twitter.com/ANWHrPH65P
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) April 25, 2017
Bumgarner says he was riding with two relatives in the mountains in Colorado on a rented bike. Almost back to the truck when he crashed.
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) April 25, 2017
Bumgarner said he fell off rented Honda riding on mostly dirt. "It wasn't quite as groomed as our dirt infield."
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) April 25, 2017
Bumgarner said he's been riding bikes his whole life without issue. "I realize this was definitely not the most responsible decision."
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 25, 2017
Here is video of Bumgarner talking about the bike accident:
Early estimates peg Bumgarner's absence at anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Given the nature of the injury -- elbow are easily fixed, relatively speaking, but that is not true with shoulders -- you can be sure San Francisco is going to play it safe with their franchise pitcher.
Bumgarner, 27, had a 3.00 ERA (131 ERA+) with 28 strikeouts in four starts and 27 innings before the injury. He threw at least 200 innings every season since 2011, though obviously that streak will end this year.
