Fresh hell for California baseball star ripped apart by grizzly bear

A California baseball star’s dream of playing professional ball could be over after his arm was ripped apart by a grizzly bear who dragged him 20ft.

Daniel Crago, 32, of San Diego, was hiking in Montana’s Glacier National Park on May 28 when he was attacked by the beast after he stumbled across a cub while on the popular Grinnell Glacier trail.

Crago’s dad George Crago told The California Post that his son was out of the hospital but still on heavy medication and in and out of medical appointments.

“Thank you for caring but he’s still in a lot of pain and has a long road ahead of him,” he said. This may have ended his career in baseball.”

Crago has worked for several Major League Baseball teams over the last decade, including the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In a recent post, he wrote about getting a fresh start on life following the terrifying bear attack he managed to survive.

“I don’t post much but I’ve been granted a second chance at life and I’m feeling extremely grateful to be able to tell this story,” Crago wrote.

“Last week, a friend and I took a vacation to Glacier National Park in Montana. After over 25 miles of hiking for the week, beautiful views and spending a lot of time in nature we were at the peak of the Grinnell Glacier Trail on our last day of hiking and had a surprise encounter with a grizzly.

“I’ve been touched by the amount of support from people in my life, both through my gofundme and personally reaching out. I’m truly grateful beyond words,” he added. 

Details from last month’s attack are truly horrific.

“No more than 15 feet above me on the mountainside was a larger grizzly,” he recalled in the online fundraiser.

“At that point, I did what they kind of teach or train you to do: just alert the bear so you don’t startle. You make them aware,” Crago told CBS 8 from the hospital, before being released.

He repeatedly yelled, “Hey bear!” — but the hulking animal made eye contact, charged at him, and sank its teeth into his right arm.

“I just kind of thought, ‘This is it,’” he recalled. “It bit down on my arm, dragged me maybe 20 feet.” The bear then ran off down the mountain, he said.

“Thankfully, the bear didn’t injure the wrist, didn’t injure the elbow. It was just a complete crush of the bones, the forearm bones,” Crago said. 

He has since returned to San Diego after undergoing multiple surgeries.

Crago has almost raised his fundraising goal of $60,000 to cover his medical costs and vowed that what happened will not keep him from his favorite pastime: Enjoying the great outdoors.

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