Dravecky Injures Arm Again During Postgame Celebration

Dave Dravecky, who battled back from cancer only to break his arm pitching, injured his arm again in the Giants’ postgame celebration Monday.

Dravecky, who was in uniform but not on the Giants’ playoff roster, may have dislocated his left shoulder, assistant trainer Greg Lynn said. He will be examined at the Palo Alto Clinic today by team physician Gordon Campbell, who helped Dravecky rehabilitate his arm after cancer surgery.

“He was running out to the mound after the final out, prepared to protect himself, and somebody ran into him from behind,” Lynn said two hours after the game in the Giants’ nearly deserted clubhouse. “A lot of guys were saying he separated it, but that’s not what we heard in the training room. We’ll know tomorrow.”

Dravecky, 33, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 Saturday, the first anniversary of the surgery to remove a cancerous tumor located in the deltoid muscle near his left shoulder.

After months of therapy and a minor league rehabilitation stint, he returned to the mound at Candlestick Park on Aug. 10 and pitched eight innings to earn an emotional 4-3 victory over Cincinnati.

Five days later in Montreal, Dravecky broke the humerus bone in his left upper arm while pitching to Tim Raines. He got the victory to finish the season with a 2-0 record and a 3.46 earned-run average.

A further evaluation showed Dravecky had a spiral oblique fracture--a twisting break, not unlike the stripes on a candy cane--that didn’t affect the muscle where the tumor was removed. Doctors said they saw no reason why he wouldn’t be able to return next season.