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Kris Bryant is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the Rockies’ left fielder said late Tuesday night after a 2-1 loss to the White Sox.
“We’ve just got to manage it as best we can moving forward,” said Bryant, who did not start in left field Tuesday night but was the designated hitter, going 1-for-3.
“Today was a better day — after the 4 1/2-hour games in Milwaukee,” he said, acknowledging that he’s been trying to deal the with pain in his foot. “We’ve got a plan and we’ve got to manage it and we’ve got to keep going.”
But Bryant, 30, already missed 44 games earlier this season because of lower back pain. The Rockies signed him as a free agent to a seven-year, $172 million contract earlier this year — the biggest free-agent contract in franchise history. When Bryant’s been healthy, he’s produced, slashing .301/.370/.476 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 37 games.
But Bryant was scratched from the lineup for Monday night’s game at Milwaukee and there was a question about whether he would be able to play Tuesday night.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of each foot and connects the heel bone to the toes.
According to the website: “Plantar fasciitis commonly causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your first steps in the morning. As you get up and move, the pain normally decreases, but it might return after long periods of standing or when you stand up after sitting.”
Bryant said that it’s a fairly common injury among athletes.
“A lot of baseball guys have had it, a lot of guys here, and a lot of the older coaches have had it, and still have it,” Bryant said.
In fact, Rockies manager Bud Black has dealt with plantar fasciitis, off and on.
“He told me, two years, and it finally went away,” Bryant said. “Hopefully it’s not two years (for me).”
Former Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs, now a commentator for AT&T SportsNet, which televises Rockies games, dealt with plantar fasciitis in his right heel for much of the 2011 season.
Spilborghs spent nearly all of August on the injured list and then aggravated the foot injury in his third game back in mid-September. At that point, Spilborghs was declared out for the rest of the season.
Spilborghs hit just .210 with a .588 OPS in 98 games in 2011 after coming into the season as a career .281 hitter with a .794 OPS.
Bryant, of course, does not know yet how severe his injury might be.
Asked when his sore foot bothers him the most, Bryant said: “Anytime my foot hits the ground. Mostly when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or in the morning. That’s really the worst part.”
Bryant has begun wearing inserts in his cleats and is getting treatment, including taking anti-inflammatory medications and getting the foot iced down in the training room.
“The good thing is, is that it usually feels bad when I’m doing something good on the field,” he said. “The two good games I had in Milwaukee, I was running the base a lot and that’s when it really flared up. So that’s a little double-edged sword there, but you just have to keep going.”
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