Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic. Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic offers tearful apology over injury

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 7/20/23

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic broke down in tears addressing the media Thursday in the wake of a significant injury.

Kelenic broke his left foot on Wednesday when he kicked a water cooler in frustration after striking out. He addressed the media on Thursday but had to take a lengthy pause before making his statement due to how emotional he was.

Jarred Kelenic was so upset with the injury. That he couldn’t speak for a few minutes. He said he let his teammates down. pic.twitter.com/aSnY792R2K

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023

Part of Kelenic’s opening comments pic.twitter.com/ycR8dM4qbF

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023

“I let the emotions get the best of me there,” Kelenic said. “I just feel terrible, especially for the guys. I let the emotions get the best of me and I just let them down, and take full responsibility for it. It’s on me. It just can’t happen.”

Kelenic certainly is not the first player to suffer a frustration-related injury. This one comes at a particularly awful time, though. The Mariners lost on Wednesday to fall to 47-48 on the season, and are quickly falling out of the AL playoff picture. The 24-year-old Kelenic has also been having something of a breakout season, hitting .252 with 11 home runs and a .759 OPS in 2023.

It was not immediately clear how long Kelenic will be out, but one figures it will be a while.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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