Longtime Milwaukee Brewers teammates Dale Sveum and Robin Yount have stayed close since they last played together more than two decades ago. It's the type of friendship that's endured the test of time, the test of Sveum managing the hated Cubs and now, apparently, the test of shotgun pellets from Yount's gun hitting Sveum's ear.
Sveum, who took over the Cubs last season after years as the Brewers hitting coach, joked about the friends' recent quail hunting trip in Arizona at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn.
"The bird went up in front of him, and I was about 50 yards up on the hill," Sveum told reporters on Tuesday. "He got the bird up and lost track of where I was and pulled the trigger and was like, 'Uh oh.' I was looking for birds myself ,and he was behind me. I got drilled with pellets in the back and the ear."
Sveum, who played with Yount from 1986-91, didn't need stitches, but he said there was plenty of blood as Yount took down both the bird and his friend. Apparently, the duo has had close calls before.
"We do it all the time," Sveum said. "Not that close all the time, but we do get BB's fall on us."
