Dale Sveum Says He Was (Sort Of) Shot by Robin Yount While Hunting, Lives to Tell About It

by Mike Cole on Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 10:00AM

Dale Sveum had a rough go of it in his first season as Chicago Cubs manager. Still in the midst of a rebuilding phase, Sveum and the Cubbies endured a 101-loss season and finished fourth in the NL Central, ahead of only the putrid Astros.

So you would think that that skipper would be all about getting into his offseason, embracing the chance to get away from the game for a few months to relax and recharge his batteries. Being shot by a Hall of Famer, however, isn’t exactly what most people call relaxing and recharging.

The former Red Sox third base coach could have just sat on the couch and reflected on the season. Instead, though, he likely said to himself “Let’s go kill some birds. I’m psyched.” He probably should have just stayed on the couch.

Sveum shared a pretty humorous story at the winter meetings on Tuesday, and it’s a story that’s only humorous because Sveum lived to tell it. The manager detailed a hunting trip mishap with Hall of Fame infielder Robin Yount, in which Yount actually shot Sveum — accidentally, of course.

While quail hunting in Arizona, there was an unfortunate accident that left Sveum with (luckily) just a minor injury.

“The bird was in front of him and I was about 50 yards up on a hill,” Sveum said, according to ESPN.com. “He got the bird up and lost track of where I was. He pulled the trigger and was like, ‘Uh, oh.’ “

Yount was using a six-shot, and the sprayed shrapnel ended up hitting Sveum in the ear.

“I got drilled with pellets in the back and then one stuck in the ear,” he said.

Again, Sveum got pretty lucky. It could have been worse. Much worse.

Photo of the Day

Hey, these guys are teammates now.

Quote of the Day

“In some ways I’d say it might be the best day we’ve had, which isn’t too overly optimistic of a picture. There is still a lot of work to do and a lot to be done.”
–Donald Fehr