Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon jokes about teammates urinating on cut finger 'if it helps'

Jason Owens
·Staff writer

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon is desperate to get back on the mound after cutting the middle finger on his pitching hand during a game last week.

He is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox and open to some unorthodox remedies to make sure he’s on the mound.

“I said if it helps, I’ll put a sign-up sheet and everyone can come and pee,” Taillon told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “I don’t care. I just want it to go away.”

After receiving attention for the proposal, Taillon made sure to clarify that he was not serious.

Either way, this doesn’t seem a good idea.

Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon said that he’s open to using urine to help speed up the recovery of a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand. (AP)
Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon said that he’s open to using urine to help speed up the recovery of a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand. (AP)

Does urine really have healing powers?

The internet is rife with debate over whether urine is an effective first aid tool for healing minor flesh wounds due to a perceived sterile quality. The urban legend gained popularity in part when characters on ’90s sitcom “Friends” debated urinating on one of their friends when she suffered a jellyfish sting.

A 2014 Loyola of Chicago study appears to have debunked the myth that urine has healing powers finding that urine is not sterile in the bladder and becomes more infected with bacteria when it leaves the body.

So here’s hoping for Taillon’s sake that he didn’t actually resort to adding bacteria from his own body or that of his teammates in a bizarre effort to speed his healing process.

If he did, Taillon wouldn’t be the first baseball player to take this route. Former MLB outfielder Moises Alou famously admitted to urinating on his hands with the belief that it would relieve callouses and toughen his skin to help him bat without gloves. Former Yankees catcher Jorge Posada apparently had the same belief, but limited the practice to spring training.

Taillon open to all remedies

Taillon told the Post-Gazette that he’s open to other remedies as well.

“We’re trying to stop the bleeding and get it to harden up as quickly as you can,” Taillon said. “If your readers, anybody, has suggestions, send them my way.”

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