Letting Anthony Rizzo play through pain is risky move for Yankees

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is tough. He’s the active leader in HBPs with 222 in his career, refusing to back off the plate no matter how many times he gets beaned. That stubbornness led to his latest injury: two fractured fingers on his right hand that kept him out of the ALDS.

Now, just two weeks and a couple of days since getting hurt, Rizzo is in the lineup for the first game of the ALCS. He may be technically okay to go, but the injury isn’t completely healed as he said he’s still feeling negative effects. The 35-year-old is unfazed by the discomfort, though.

"It's just pain," Rizzo said, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. "It's temporary, and the 50,000 people in the stands and the adrenaline and what's at stake is going to outweigh any pain I'll be feeling.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is backing up Rizzo’s claims, while admitting he’s at least partly taking the slugger at his word. 

"Pretty adamant yesterday that he's ready to go," Boone said, per Castillo. "Trainers feel like he's in a good spot. I feel like just watching him out in the field defensively, he looks very Anthony-ish.”

New York relied on Jon Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera at first base to win the ALDS. Both played well in the field, guided by Rizzo’s tutelage. But having Rizzo’s Platinum Glove in the field could make a big difference against Cleveland in the ALCS — assuming that glove works.

Rizzo’s bravado is either admirable or foolish. If he comes back and gets a big hit or two, he’ll be a hero. But if his injury makes him an easy out or he drops a  throw to first, he’ll be something closer to the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, insisting that his injury is “just a flesh wound.”