Yankees GM breaks leg in parachute jump for charity

New York Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman watches batting practice during workouts at the team's spring training complex in Tampa, Florida February 27, 2012.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman broke his right fibula and dislocated his ankle upon landing from a parachute jump for charity in Florida, the team said on Monday.

Cashman, 45, the main executive who decides which multimillion-dollar contracts to offer on Major League Baseball's highest paid team, was attempting to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids U.S. military veterans when they return from war.

He was injured on the second of two tandem jumps with a parachutist from the U.S. Army Golden Knights at the Homestead Air Reserve Base outside of Miami, the team said in a statement.

Surgery was scheduled for later on Monday at Broward Health Medical Center, the statement said.

"I'm in great spirits and it was an awesome experience," Cashman said in the statement. "The Golden Knights are first class. While I certainly didn't intend to raise awareness in exactly this fashion, I'm extremely happy that the Wounded Warrior Project is getting the well-deserved additional attention."

In recent years, Cashman has rappelled from the roof of the 22-story Landmark Building in Stamford, Connecticut, in what has become a Christmas season tradition.

Cashman was also in the news for non-baseball reasons last year when a woman was arrested on charges of stalking him. The woman has pleaded not guilty.

(For details, see: www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ )

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta, editing by G Crosse)