Cardinals' Pham says he was stabbed by stepfather 5 years ago

When Tommy Pham was first asked about the freak injury he suffered Wednesday that resulted in a head laceration and a uniform covered in blood, the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder seemed unfazed and replied that he's "been through a lot." Later, Pham divulged the extent of what he meant.

"I've been stabbed ... I've felt pain before. The only thing was the blood. I couldn't get the blood to stop," Pham told Joe Trezza of MLB.com about the batting-cage injury that forced him from Wednesday's game.

On Thursday, Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest followed up with Pham about the stabbing story, and the 30-year-old described an incident that happened during a fight with his stepfather five years ago. Pham said he was stabbed below the rib cage, and that while he was fine, there was a lot of blood.

It's still uncertain if Pham will miss significant time due to the latest injury, though he passed the concussion protocol afterward.

The freak injury was the result of a contraption that Pham uses to add resistance to his swing plane in practice. As he took cuts in the cage during Wednesday's game, the resistance band slipped, causing the bat to ricochet upward and hit his head.