Johnson has knack for getting hurt

The Washington Nationals will be at home to play the New York Mets on Tuesday night, and as usual, first baseman Nick Johnson will be elsewhere.

He is back in Sacramento, Calif., where he grew up and lives with his wife and daughter. But his primary residence is the disabled list, where by now he owns an estate.

Once known as a smart, patient hitter with a knack for getting on base, Johnson is still that - when he plays. But he is known more for not playing because of his knack for getting hurt. Every conversation or piece of news about Johnson usually includes the words “injury prone.”

Recovering from surgery on the ligament in his right wrist that he tore in May, Johnson said he refuses to dwell on his misfortunes. Quiet and even-keeled, he is disinclined toward self-analysis or introspection.

“I’ve been hurt. There’s no other way to put it,” he said. “Maybe I didn’t drink enough milk when I was little.”

The injury-prone label is freely applied in sports. Asked whether this is merely a convenient, simplistic device for fans and the media or a genuine medical issue, Nationals team doctor Ben Shaffer said, “There are guys who, for whatever reason, seem to struggle and be more a part of a medical team than an athletic team.

“I think people can develop a clear pattern of having a cloud over their heads. Nick would be an example of one. … Some guys have the Midas touch. He’s the polar opposite.”

The cloud was never darker than it was two years ago, when Johnson broke his right leg in a collision with outfielder Austin Kearns. The injury led to hip complications and forced Johnson to miss all of last season.

It also was totally avoidable; neither player called the other off a pop fly. Still, it wasn’t baseball’s first outfield collision, and sometimes players get hurt. But no one misses the entire next season. No one but Johnson, that is.

“Without saying this in a pejorative way, Nick Johnson is sort of my orthopedic Pigpen,” Shaffer said.

Johnson’s latest injury occurred when he simply swung the bat during a game. It was supposed to take four to six weeks to heal, but now another season is ruined.

“The guy has delayed healing,” Shaffer said.

“You can’t explain it,” Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said at the time, a comment that also might apply to the team’s rash of injuries this year.

Johnson’s injuries, beside numerous, have been varied. In 2004, a ground ball took a bad hop and hit him in the face. Fractured cheekbone. Starting with his first team, the New York Yankees, then with the Montreal Expos and now the Nationals, he also has injured his shoulder (1998), right hand (2000, 2003), left thumb (2001), right knee and left wrist (2002), lower back (2004) and left heel (2005), in addition to the broken leg and torn thumb ligament.

The 2000 hand injury happened when he merely checked his swing during an exhibition game. On the cusp of promotion to the Yankees, he ended up missing the season with what doctors called a strained muscle. No one misses an entire season because of a strained hand muscle — except Johnson.

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