The White Sox on Tuesday admitted what they`ve known for two weeks: that Ron Kittle`s back was worse than they were saying.
The club announced that Kittle, their leading home run hitter, will have season-ending surgery next week to remove a herniated disc in his back.
”We knew what his problems were ahead of time, but we wanted to go ahead with a conservative treatment on them. . . that`s what I elected to do instead of set off the alarms that he had a herniated disc,” Sox General Manager Larry Himes told reporters.
The Sox could have used Kittle in Tuesday night`s 5-1 loss to the Texas Rangers before 9,631 in Comiskey Park. The Sox`s home record fell to 11-26, worst in baseball.
The Rangers` Kevin Brown won a battle of rookie pitchers over Greg Hibbard. Brown, who beat the Sox on three hits June 6, shut them down while Hibbard gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Jeff Kunkel had two runs batted in for the Rangers.
But the loss, the Sox`s 48th of the year, seemed inconsequential next to the loss of Kittle, who was hitting .302 with 11 homers and 37 runs batted in when he went on the disabled list last week.
When the Sox put Kittle on the disabled list a week ago, they said team physician James Boscardin had diagnosed nerve irritation and a slight sprain of the lower back. On Tuesday they revealed that Boscardin`s original diagnosis was much worse-a herniated disc.
”I don`t think it`s misleading because that`s what it is,” Himes said when asked to explain the discrepancy between the facts and the club`s first statements on the injury. ”That`s what the herniated disc causes, the nerve irritation in the back. What happens now is, to alleviate the nerve problem, they have to remove the disc.
”I don`t think it was misleading. What it was was an opportunity to go about treating him conservatively with the idea that Ron Kittle was going to be back with us.”
That was fine with Kittle, who wanted to explore other options before consenting to surgery. He believes he suffered the injury in a rain-soaked game in Yankee Stadium April 29.
”I kept it out of the press because I thought that, with the problem that I have, maybe rest would have taken care of it,” he said. ”I was willing to take a gamble. I didn`t want to jump to conclusions. (But) I kind of knew I was going to have to have it anyway.”
Himes said the Sox hid the true extent of Kittle`s injury ”because everybody would have been (saying): `This is Scottie Pippen, this is Scott Sanderson, he`s going to be on the disabled list, he won`t play the rest of the year, he won`t come back until next year.` ”
The injury would figure to end speculation that the Sox will trade Ivan Calderon, who with Carlton Fisk now are the club`s only right-handed power hitters. But Himes said he was ”no less willing” to make a deal.
”We wanted 10 days to find out if this is going to be the problem, if we could solve the problem, with (medication), with rest, that he would be able to play,” Himes said. ”Obviously, it didn`t work.”
The Sox weren`t fooling Kittle`s back. He`ll undergo surgery next week in Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr. Michael Schafer, one of the Cubs`
physicians, will perform the operation.
Kittle said he will undergo extensive rehabilitation this fall and hopes to return next spring.
The decision came as a major blow to the popular Sox slugger, who was a strong choice for the American League All-Star team and possibly Comeback Player of the Year.
”I was counting on (making the All-Star team) myself,” Kittle said.
”This is very disappointing. I try to put a positive on everything. There`s a reason for everything that happens. Maybe this happened so Greg Walker could get back in the lineup.
”I know I was onto a nice season,” Kittle said.
”It`s pretty hard to replace him,” Himes said. ”We aren`t going to replace him until next year, when he comes back, and then he`ll replace himself.”
