ESPN.com: MLB – Phillies’ Abreu undergoes emergency appendectomy
This is how Rotowire reported Adrian Beltre’s emergency appendectomy on January 17, 2001: “Beltre had surgery early last Friday and remained hospitalized Wednesday. Beltre is expected to be released within the next few days and should be fully recovered by the start of spring training according to Dodgers VP Derrick Hall.”
No, I’m sure not every appendectomy performed in DR results in a large hole in the colon and sudden and devastating weight loss. But Beltre’s was the first appendectomy that came to mind when I heard about Abreu’s, and he went on to miss more than four months.
Another recent baseball appendectomy was Brian Moehler’s. He had emergency surgery in April 2000 while the Tigers were playing the White Sox in Chicago. His next big league start was a month later.
That’s probably a more reasonable timetable for Abreu, but Beltre’s plight last year reminds us that accidents do happen.