ASU in MLB: Injuries won’t stop Indians 2B Jason Kipnis

Jason Kipnis has been battling with injuries this year as the Cleveland Indians look to make another push for October.

The all-star second baseman was put on the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury last week, but has taken infield and is able to sprint, according to espn.com.

"I'm just grinding away," Kipnis told Cleveland.com. "It's been a physically and mentally tough season for me, but the team is still where we want it to be. That's the most important thing. We're in first place and playing pretty well.”

"I just hope to start contributing a little bit more. That's all."

Kipnis has dealt with injuries to his right rotator cuff, neck and hamstring.

The hamstring has let Kipnis down this season. He was sidelined in early August for the same telling Cleveland.com that he felt tightness in a series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Kipnis also made mention of the extremely long season.

"It's not an easy thing to go through a major league season, 162 games," said Kipnis. "You do the best you can.''

Kipnis, who turned thirty years of age in April, a significant milestone for professional athletes, may be struggling because of the lengthy season the Indians had last year, losing in game seven of the World Series to the Chicago Cubs. These combination of these factors could be resulting in physical fatigue.

But that hasn’t stopped Kipnis for doing the best with what he has. In 79 games played this season, he has 30 runs batted in and is carrying an on base percentage of .285. Even though this seems mediocre, Kipnis is actually having a productive season in terms of his games played. This is significant as it proves that Jason Kipnis is still a positive influence on his team.

The Indians aren’t looking to end this season early either, as they sit in first place in the AL Central division with a 79-56 record. It’s safe to say that they will be returning to the postseason.

Clearly Kipnis is dealing with some health difficulties, but the Northbrook, Illinois native has never been one to disappoint, even when faced with adversity.

When Kipnis transferred to Arizona State University from Kentucky, he had to make his mark early for the Sun Devils. He did not disappoint. Kipnis was unstoppable for the Sun Devils in his debut season, hitting .371 with 14 homers and 73 RBI while starting all 62 games in 2008.

He also gained extremely high praise by winning Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year honors, First Team All-Pac-10, First Team All-West Region by the ABCA, Second Team All-America by the ABCA and a Third Team All-American by Baseball America.

He then went on to be drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008 and made his debut in 2011 with the Indians.