Ouch! 5 freaky off-field baseball injuries

Who knew you could suffer an elbow injury sitting in a chair in the bullpen? Or sitting in a chair anywhere, for that matter?

Brian Duensing certainly didn't before Monday, but after one seemingly innocuous shift of position while hanging out in the Baltimore Orioles' bullpen, the reliever will now miss approximately four-to-eight weeks with an elbow injury, and must undergo arthroscopic surgery.

While we can't laugh too hard - this is his livelihood, after all - Duensing's chair issue earned him a permanent spot on baseball's "bizarre off-field injury list." Every sport has its share of strange and occasionally hilarious injuries, but baseball's list is consistently filled with some of the wackiest ailments ever, often suffered in almost unbelievable circumstances.

Here's a look back at five other freaky off-field baseball injuries.

Glenallen Hill's costly nightmare

During his rookie season with the Blue Jays in 1990, Hill sustained cuts and bruises after sleepwalking in his apartment while having a nightmare in which he was attacked by spiders. "I have a phobia about spiders," Hill told reporters after he showed up at Toronto's SkyDome on crutches. ''In the nightmare, I was trying to get away from spiders. When I woke up I was on a couch and my wife, Mika, was screaming, 'Honey, wake up!'" Hill went on to have a successful 13-year career, but his teammates never let him forget about that night, as he was given the nickname "Spider-man."

Scooter Gennett gets cut in the shower

After the Brewers lost a game in Pittsburgh last year, Gennett cut his hand in the shower while reaching for his soap. "I tried to grab some body wash, like I would normally grab body wash, and scraped it on the bottom (of the rack)," he told reporters. "I didn't feel anything then it started bleeding everywhere." Gennett got stitches and a stint on the disabled list out of it, but at least he could seek council from teammate Jonathan Lucroy, who suffered his own strange hand injury involving a sock and a suitcase in 2012.

Michael Taylor's chewing gum gaffe

Taylor, the former Athletics prospect who shouldn't be confused with the Washington Nationals outfielder, turned one of baseball's simple pastimes into a freaky ailment. During spring training in 2013, Taylor was sitting on the bench chewing gum, like almost every baseball player does. When the 6-foot-5 outfielder went to toss his gum in the garbage, though, his hand scraped the ceiling light fixture, slicing his finger open. He missed 11 days of action, proving once again that anything can be dangerous.

Wade Boggs struggles with boots​

Boggs, ever the stylish man, was on a road trip to Toronto in 1986 when he decided to add cowboy boots to his outfit. Bad move, Wade. The Hall of Famer lost his balance while putting the boots on, slammed into a couch, and bruised his ribs. He was limited to a pinch-hit appearance the next day, and ended up missing several more games after trying to play through it. That's a rough punishment for trying to put on shoes - but hey, it's better than having to miss a softball game after getting knocked out in a bar.

Steve Sparks and the phone book

Leave the stunts to the professionals, Steve. The Brewers tried to lighten up spring training in 1994 by bringing in motivational speakers who ripped phone books in half. Sparks, then a minor leaguer, was inspired by this performance, and attempted to do it himself. The result? A dislocated shoulder. It was the seventh of 15 times he'd dislocate his shoulder during his career, but the only one suffered via a phone book. Sparks actually pitched 28 games in Triple-A that year before finally reaching the majors in 1995, as this dislocation was on his non-throwing shoulder.