San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner Showed Maturity with Reporters

Every San Francisco Giants fan knows by now about the dirt bike accident that has ace pitcher Madison Bumgarner out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.

The San Francisco Giants ace addressed reporters before yesterday’s game to talk about what happened and what’s next for the left hander.

What he did on his off day in Colorado was certainly reckless in hindsight and Bumgarner acknowledged that.

“It’s definitely not the most responsible decision I’ve made.” said Bumgarner.

"“It’s hard to put a timetable on it, but I would certainly be disappointed if I wasn’t (back this season),” Bumgarner said. “The only thing I’m putting my focus on now is busting my butt to rehab and make sure I’m back with the team.”"

More from Bumgarner:

"“I was actually being pretty safe the whole time,” Bumgarner said. “It was just a freak deal. We were on the way out, almost back to the truck … I wish I had some kind of cool story that it was some kind of crazy wreck. It wasn’t anything spectacular.”"

Giants fans remember all too well the now infamous Jeff Kent car wash injury.

Here was a sample of Kent’s comments then:

"“I was straddling the back of my truck when I slipped and fell,” Kent said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time and finished washing my truck. It started swelling up during the night and got really sore.”"

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The big difference here is Bumgarner was telling the truth. He was honest with reporters and, in his own words, wished he had a better story to tell.

Kent, on the other hand, still says he fell off his truck to this day despite conflicting reports from eyewitnesses who saw him trying to do tricks on his motorcycle.

Athletes will continue to make mistakes off the field. Giants fans know all too well about freak accidents from frozen hamburger patties ending Jeremy Affeldt‘s season in 2011 or sandwich cutting malfunctions for Matt Cain in 2014.

As upset as fans might be with Bumgarner for the timing and recklessness of the injury, they should also be praising him for facing the music and being honest about what happened. Accidents happen and players will continue to get hurt in bizarre ways each and every season.

Next: Matt Cain Leads Giants to a Win over Dodgers

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It’s never easy to hear that one of your players in out a significant amount of time because of an off-field incident. It is even worse when it is your best player.