Christian Arroyo Wasn’t ‘Trying To Go USA Gymnastics’ During First Base Split

Christian Arroyo did not have the best debut at first base July 18.

The Boston Red Sox utility man did a split in an attempt to make a play against the New York Yankees that led to a hamstring injury and another injured list stint.

Arroyo never had played first base before that game, but he revealed to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he never meant to do the split because he’s “not that dumb.”

“I was talking to Alex (Cora) about it yesterday. It was one of those things where, I mean, it doesn’t really matter what you do. Like the entire first base was soaked from the rain,” Arroyo told Bradford. “It rained the day before, so it’s one of those things where I was trying to make a play and my foot literally slipped out from under me. If you watch the video, you can see it. Because I went to stop, thought my heel would catch and it didn’t. It just keeps going …

“I wasn’t trying to do a full split. I’m not that dumb,” he added. “I’m a pretty nimble guy for my size I would say, but no, I was definitely not trying go USA Gymnastics at first base at Yankee Stadium.”

Arroyo did go through a “full workout” Thursday. While that’s certainly good news, there’s still no timeframe as to just when he will return.