Stephen Spradling. (FSU)Awful injury that could have been so much worse: Florida State baseball player Stephen Spradling suffered multiple broken bones in a skydiving accident earlier this week.
According to FSU officials, Spradling has a broken pelvis, broken ribs, broken hips and a broken bone in his back. He'll be confined to a wheelchair for at least two to three months after he's released from the hospital.
“They think he’s going to be able to walk,” FSU assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. told Tallahassee.com. “They’re pretty confident as far as walking. He’ll probably never play baseball again, which is irrelevant right now.”
Spradling was apparently about 100 feet from the ground preparing to land when he spotted another skydiver coming straight at him. A collision likely would have killed both of them, so Spradling pulled hard on his chute but hit the ground extremely hard. He was hospitalized in Melbourne, Fla.
Martin said Spradling was an experienced skydiver and extreme sports enthusiast. He hit .262 in 42 at-bats last season for the Seminoles, and ranked second on the team with 12 hit-by-pitches.