Indians pitcher shot on team bus
Denney not seriously hurt, will rejoin team Thursday
Posted: Thursday September 30, 2004 11:09AM; Updated: Thursday September 30, 2004 11:09AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Cleveland Indians pitcher Kyle Denney was shot in the right calf while riding on the team bus as it was traveling to Kansas City International Airport late Wednesday night.
Denney was not seriously injured. The bullet did not go very deep and was immediately removed by Indians trainers. The rookie right-hander was taken to a hospital, and although team spokesman Bart Swain had said he was expected to spend the night, a police spokesman said Denney was treated and released.
The rest of the team was unharmed. The Indians arrived safely at the airport and boarded a plane bound for Minneapolis early Thursday morning.
"Unfortunately, the situation is what it is, but Kyle is doing very well," Swain told The Associated Press as the plane took off.
Swain told The Kansas City Star the shot was fired into the side of one of the Indians' two buses while it was on a ramp between Interstate 435 and I-70, grazing outfielder Ryan Ludwick.
"It went through his pants and then hit Denney," Swain told the newspaper. "At first, there was a little bit of panic. Once we realized Kyle was OK, fears were subsided."
Police spokesman Darin Snapp said the team arrived at the airport before calling police. Swain said the Indians waited because trainer Lonnie Soloff was able to dislodge the bullet.
Another police spokesman, Sgt. Tony Sanders, said people on the bus reported hearing "what sounded like a firecracker" and then realized that it was a gunshot. He said the investigation was hampered a bit by the fact that the bus continued on to the airport before police were called.
He appealed for calls from anyone who was in the area at the time.
"We are doing out best to find out what happened, and we think somebody might have seen something," Sanders said.
Sanders said later that a tip had led to identification of a possible suspect, who was not in custody.
Denney, who started Wednesday night's 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, was expected to rejoin the Indians on Thursday in Minnesota, where Cleveland begins its final series of the season Friday.
In Cleveland, The Plain Dealer reported that as part of a rookie hazing ritual, Denney was wearing a USC cheerleader's outfit, including high white boots, on the trip to the airport.
"Our trainers said the boots may have saved Kyle from further injury," Swain said.
Snapp said police had no suspects and did not know if the Indians' players were the intended targets.
Telephone messages left for the Royals were not immediately returned.
After getting called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Sept. 14, the 27-year-old Denney is 1-2 with a 9.56 ERA in four starts with Cleveland. He beat Kansas City 8-3 on Sept. 19 for his first major league win.
