Baseball players have sustained some pretty wacky injuries over the years. Back in 2004, Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa reportedly strained his back due to a violent sneeze. The following year, Colorado Rockies infielder Clint Barmes broke his collarbone carrying deer meat up the stairs.
This season, it was Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd’s turn to etch his name into the annals of baseball injury lore. In early May, Boyd reportedly tore his meniscus while “sitting down to play with his kids.”
It was an … unusual … injury considering how mild it sounded. But given Boyd’s age — he’s 35 — it was also plausible. Still, some had questions over what actually happened, or if there was more to the story than Boyd simply bending down to play with his family.
Turns out, there wasn’t anything nefarious going on. During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast, Boyd revealed exactly how his injury occurred, and made sure to exonerate his son in the process.
As Boyd explained, he simply bent down to play with his son, who was playing with a set of Legos. As Boyd bend down, he heard a pop in his knee. Boyd said it didn’t hurt initially, but when he tried to get up, he realized he couldn’t straighten or put any weight on his knee.
Boyd added that he believed he had likely been dealing with a torn meniscus for a while and that motion was what wound up bringing it to light. He didn’t cause his meniscus tear just by bending over one time.
Boyd underwent surgery to repair the issue and was able to throw the next day. He pitched in a rehab start Monday and is hoping to re-join the Cubs in June.
Before he finished his story, however, Boyd made sure to stress that his kids did not cause his injury.
“Not my kids’ fault, he said. “My kids didn’t take me out.”
Boyd entered the 2026 MLB season with high expectations. Following a strong 2025, in which he made his first All-Star team after posting a 3.21 ERA over 179 2/3 innings, his 2026 has already been disrupted by two injuries.
Boyd missed time with an arm injury in April before sustaining his knee injury in early May. He’ll look to put both issues behind him soon, and will try and build off the success he experienced last season.
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