Celebrations injurious to players' health

Excessive celebrations have become commonplace in sports, and baseball is no exception. While the sport polices itself better than most - individual outbursts are generally frowned upon - there are exceptions. Over-the-top celebrations have become orchestrated events and early-season comeback wins are treated by some as though a championship title has been secured. After what happened last weekend, however, that might change.

Kendry Morales of the Los Angeles Angels hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Angels a 5-1 win over Seattle. As Morales headed for home, the entire Angels team awaited him. Morales tossed his helmet to the sky and leaped to come down on the plate. But he crashed into some teammates (or they into him) and when it was over, Morales was sprawled on the ground with a fractured left ankle.

He is expected to miss at least several months, a huge blow to the Angels' play-off chances. "Yesterday's event was terrible and it was something that I think we need to address," said Mike Scioscia, the Angels manager. "It's happened before in baseball. It's not going to happen again here. We need to do a better job than to get hurt in a dog-pile scenario celebrating a win." When asked what the new guidelines were for celebrations, Scioscia said: "Any other way than the way we did yesterday."

It's a tough lesson for the Angels, but perhaps teams will now think twice about such displays - and their potential consequences. [e-mail]