Editor's Note: Corey Wimberly was traded by the Rockies to the Athletics for outfielder Matt Murton on Feb. 4, 2009.

The hamate bone is baseball's version of the appendix or the wisdom tooth. Something that serves no purpose in the body really, until it breaks and lands its owner on the disabled list.

A small hook-like bone in the hand (from the Latin hamus, meaning "hook"), it can snap when the batter takes a swing. This summer it happened to three infield prospects with the Tulsa Drillers, the Colorado Rockies' Double-A affiliate in the Texas League.

You can call them the "three Hamigos" -- first second baseman Eric Young Jr. was lost for several weeks early on, then shortstop Chris Nelson went down for more than two months, and finally utility infielder Corey Wimberly was injured in early August and underwent surgery when the season ended.

The trio was to comprise three-quarters of the Tulsa infield and a one-two-three punch atop the lineup, with Wimberly in the leadoff slot. Instead, there were only 19 games in the 140-game schedule in which all three started, including the Aug. 7 contest in which Wimberly was forced to leave after one at-bat, signaling the end of his season.

The injury was perhaps most costly to Wimberly, as it may have cost him a spot on the Rockies' 40-man roster (both Young and Nelson were added) or the chance to be selected by one of the other 29 organizations in the Rule 5 Draft.

But the 5-foot-8 switch-hitter, taken out of Alcorn State in the sixth round of the 2005 Draft, wants people to know he is healthy, hungry and ready to go with Spring Training in Tucson around the corner.

His hitting ability has never been in question. After batting .462 at Alcorn State to lead all NCAA Division I hitters in 2005, he batted .381 that summer at Casper in the Pioneer League. He also won a batting title in 2007 when he hit .407 in the Arizona Fall League.

Playing almost exclusively at second base over the previous two seasons, he gained versatility this summer at Tulsa by spending time at second, shortstop, third base and the outfield.

A .312 career hitter, Wimberly was hitting .291 with a league-high (and career-best) 59 stolen bases when he finally succumbed to the sore wrist that had been plaguing him for several weeks. His teammates Young and Nelson had already unofficially diagnosed it as a broken hamate bone, thanks to their own experiences (Young had undergone the surgery twice -- once on each hand).

"It had bothered me for quite some time, I was getting it taped for a month prior to that," recalled Wimberly, who led the Texas League in steals for two seasons despite never playing more than 108 games (a hamstring injury sidelined him for part of 2007). "And I pretty much figured that's what it was because it was such a different pain from anything I'd experienced before. And when [Young and Nelson] explained to me how the pain felt for them, it accurately described how I felt."

The surgery and recovery period eradicated any hopes Wimberly had of playing Winter ball, so instead he concentrated on rehabbing and relaxing so he could enjoy a healthy and productive 2009 season. "I'm full speed ahead now, no pain, swinging well, running well, everything is good," he said.

Had Wimberly considered having both hamate bones removed at once to avoid having to go through two separate surgeries and recovery periods the way Young did?

"That thought actually did run through my mind," he said. "But I know a lot of the time the injury happens because you hold the bat too far down in the palm of your hand, so I think I can prevent it in the future by moving down on the bat. Any time you go under the knife there are risks."

MLB.com: Of what accomplishment, on or off the field, in your life are you the proudest?

CW: I'm really, really proud of being a role model and having people look up to me, coming where I'm from.

MLB.com: What is the coolest thing you've ever done?

CW: Snowboarding in Lake Tahoe. I probably shouldn't be saying that, but I wasn't worried about getting hurt at the time. A couple of my teammates and I went out.

MLB.com: What do you think you'd be doing now if you weren't playing baseball?

CW: I would have to say probably a coach of some sort. Maybe playing football.

MLB.com: Do you have other hobbies or creative outlets aside from baseball?

CW: Playing chess. I like to read. And I love watching Keyshia Cole's show. I'm obsessed with Keyshia Cole.

MLB.com: Complete this sentence: It would surprise people to know that...

CW: I'm like a female when it comes to dressing -- I change like four or five times before I go out.

MLB.com: Which aspect of life in the Minors do you find to be the biggest challenge and why?

CW: Just the mental aspect of handling adversity and knowing that even though you may not be successful at one thing you can learn from it.

MLB.com: Which aspect of life in the Minors has surprised you the most, in comparison to what you might have imagined before you turned pro?

CW: The fact that things don't always happen the way you want them to, but if you keep going you can achieve those goals.

MLB.com: What is the biggest misperception that people outside of baseball have about life in the Minors?

CW: That I'm rich. People think that once they see your name on the Colorado Rockies, you're making the same money as the guys on TV.

MLB.com: Who is the most unusual character you've met in your pro baseball career?

CW: Christian Colonel. He's such a fun guy to watch. He's entertaining and a free spirit. He does whatever he wants to whenever he wants to and you never know what you're going to get at any given time. He never offends anyone, but you'll never meet anyone quite like him.

MLB.com: What is the one question you hope you never hear again?

CW: Anything dealing with a streak or about approaching a record, because then you start thinking about it. It happened to me when I was in college because I was doing really well and a reporter asked me about it the day before I went into a slump, that if I kept hitting that way I'd break Rickie Weeks' conference record for hitting. I knew what he'd hit the year before even though I tried not to look at stats and that got in my head a little bit.

MLB.com: In your career, what has been your favorite road trip and why?

CW: Springfield, Missouri. I like to play there because they always have a full house and it gives you the taste of what it will be like in the future. They have great fans. They don't heckle, they're just about good baseball and they tell you if you do well no matter what team you're on.