I can't read the NYT article but I wonder the extent to which this assessment paid attention to the innovation of ideologies and procedures compared to previous generations of baseball. Its not enough to simply observe that more players are injured in 2025 than there were in 1970. Perhaps the current injuries to McNeil and Manaea are things that in 1970 they would have played through but stronger caution and better healthcare have put them on the IL in 2025.
It's a complex problem that isn't going to be answered with one simple solution and anyone thinking that a lot of these injuries occur because players are ignoring offseason workouts seems misguided to me.
I've long advocated for the Mets to find out what - if anything - Mickey Callaway did to keep pitchers healthy in his two years here. It certainly could be pure luck. But maybe there was something else going on.
I don't pretend to know what the solution is. But it's going to be a multi-pronged effort that at best will reduce the number of injuries that happen. I want to see the best players for all 30 teams being able to perform and not having to be on the IL.
FWIW - the injury issue seems to me to be a bigger problem in the NBA. The Knicks have been one of the healthier teams in the league. Yet they started the season with three rotational pieces who missed at least a month and are now playing without Jalen Brunson. And there are significantly fewer players on an NBA roster than an MLB one.
Thanks Brian. On the Knicks I think they have done well with the adversity they’ve had. They are so close to a team that could get to the next level but not quite there. I’d expect a lot of injuries in the NBA with all the running and contact and I’m surprised there are not more.
I also would like to compliment you Stephen on a well researched and well presented article. A part of me says that it is the occupational hazard of the job just like those of us that work in restaurant kitchens have bad knees and foot and leg pain. We knew these effects when deciding to not pursue a different career path. But, a different part of me says the human body wasn’t made for these movements, this stress on joints, and the lack of sufficient recovery. Even platoon players get time off when a certain handed pitcher pitches, maybe there needs to be a certain amount of games a player can play. Just like a truck driver that is only allowed to drive a certain amount of hours in a day or federal guidelines that prohibit the overuse of an individual, maybe if these players were rested more often their bodies would be better able to keep from breaking.
This reminds me of my initial reaction to changes like the LOOGY ban and the ghost runner on 2nd in the 10th rule, why not just make the games shorter? If the human body cannot keep up with a 9 inning times 162 game schedule, which is at least true in some aspects considering the low frequency of complete games and the UCL stress that is cited in the article, then maybe shortening the length to high school rules is the answer. I prefer the idea of 7 inning games to the idea of ghost man on 2nd. 7 inning games sounds like a solution here too.
Thanks Gus. Salaries have made time off a bad word even if it would be better for the player’s health. The problem is that by paying Soto, Lindor and Alonso well over a hundred million, I want them on the field for every game.
This is a great article Stephen. A lot of good points and also very thought provoking. The thing that makes the most sense to me is the point about increasing velocity and the fact that the human body can’t keep up over the long term. The same goes for hitters who try to increase strength, flexibility and bat speed creating more torque on their bodies and leading to injuries.
I don’t know what the answer is - you can’t tell a player to try less!
I also remember the issue with Syndergaard when he bulked up. Someone (I think Tom House maybe) predicted that he would get hurt because he added the muscle without those new muscles going through the pitching motions, and he was right.
My view on this is that it is not really a problem. There are inherent dangers in throwing a baseball with that kind of velocity and spin - pitchers go into the game knowing that. They still do it. 40 and 50 years ago while Tommy John was an actual person and pitching, the pitchers learned how to get hitters out without trying to throw every ball through a wall. If that has changed, so be it, and if the trainers and physio-engineers can prevent it, all the more power to them, but let's not change (shorten?) the game because pitchers now all have to throw the ball 100 mph.
I really don't understand the oblique and lat strains. I certainly cannot blindly place blame on players coming to camp out of shape. I know Manaea has spoken that he worked out at the same facility that Pete Alonso worked at all winter. I suspect it has more to do with trying to do too much too soon once they get to camp. Or their stretching routines are not optimized for the new ST workouts??
I have no idea how Alvarez hurt the hamate bone - I think I heard it was on a swing and he did not get hit by a pitch, but in any case, that is not a poor conditioning injury.
Injuries happen. Let's play baseball. (9 innings, at least)
I believe that there are more throwers now than pitchers because teams demand near 100 MPH fastballs and lots of strikeouts. The best pitchers today combine that fastball with lots of other pitchers and know how to pitch to contact thereby preserving their arms. That has been true forever. Greg Maddox is a great example of a pitcher who knew how to get players out, struck out many, but did it primarily with pitches other than his hittable 90 MPH fastball.
CTE in the NFL is probably the best guide. The NFL didn't change the rules to lower concussion risk until the players sued in court. MLB will probably pay lip service with studies, but it will change nothing until the players' union sues or makes UCL injuries a collective bargaining issue.
In the meantime, if the Dodgers offer a lesson, it's best to deal with injuries through depth on the roster. Looks like that's exactly what Stearns is doing.
I can't read the NYT article but I wonder the extent to which this assessment paid attention to the innovation of ideologies and procedures compared to previous generations of baseball. Its not enough to simply observe that more players are injured in 2025 than there were in 1970. Perhaps the current injuries to McNeil and Manaea are things that in 1970 they would have played through but stronger caution and better healthcare have put them on the IL in 2025.
I enjoyed this article.
It's a complex problem that isn't going to be answered with one simple solution and anyone thinking that a lot of these injuries occur because players are ignoring offseason workouts seems misguided to me.
I've long advocated for the Mets to find out what - if anything - Mickey Callaway did to keep pitchers healthy in his two years here. It certainly could be pure luck. But maybe there was something else going on.
I don't pretend to know what the solution is. But it's going to be a multi-pronged effort that at best will reduce the number of injuries that happen. I want to see the best players for all 30 teams being able to perform and not having to be on the IL.
FWIW - the injury issue seems to me to be a bigger problem in the NBA. The Knicks have been one of the healthier teams in the league. Yet they started the season with three rotational pieces who missed at least a month and are now playing without Jalen Brunson. And there are significantly fewer players on an NBA roster than an MLB one.
Thanks Brian. On the Knicks I think they have done well with the adversity they’ve had. They are so close to a team that could get to the next level but not quite there. I’d expect a lot of injuries in the NBA with all the running and contact and I’m surprised there are not more.
I also would like to compliment you Stephen on a well researched and well presented article. A part of me says that it is the occupational hazard of the job just like those of us that work in restaurant kitchens have bad knees and foot and leg pain. We knew these effects when deciding to not pursue a different career path. But, a different part of me says the human body wasn’t made for these movements, this stress on joints, and the lack of sufficient recovery. Even platoon players get time off when a certain handed pitcher pitches, maybe there needs to be a certain amount of games a player can play. Just like a truck driver that is only allowed to drive a certain amount of hours in a day or federal guidelines that prohibit the overuse of an individual, maybe if these players were rested more often their bodies would be better able to keep from breaking.
This reminds me of my initial reaction to changes like the LOOGY ban and the ghost runner on 2nd in the 10th rule, why not just make the games shorter? If the human body cannot keep up with a 9 inning times 162 game schedule, which is at least true in some aspects considering the low frequency of complete games and the UCL stress that is cited in the article, then maybe shortening the length to high school rules is the answer. I prefer the idea of 7 inning games to the idea of ghost man on 2nd. 7 inning games sounds like a solution here too.
Thanks Gus. Salaries have made time off a bad word even if it would be better for the player’s health. The problem is that by paying Soto, Lindor and Alonso well over a hundred million, I want them on the field for every game.
This is a great article Stephen. A lot of good points and also very thought provoking. The thing that makes the most sense to me is the point about increasing velocity and the fact that the human body can’t keep up over the long term. The same goes for hitters who try to increase strength, flexibility and bat speed creating more torque on their bodies and leading to injuries.
I don’t know what the answer is - you can’t tell a player to try less!
I also remember the issue with Syndergaard when he bulked up. Someone (I think Tom House maybe) predicted that he would get hurt because he added the muscle without those new muscles going through the pitching motions, and he was right.
Thanks Bob. A lot goes in to being a chosen few of becoming a ball player. The drive to succeed replaces thoughts of wear and tear on your body.
My view on this is that it is not really a problem. There are inherent dangers in throwing a baseball with that kind of velocity and spin - pitchers go into the game knowing that. They still do it. 40 and 50 years ago while Tommy John was an actual person and pitching, the pitchers learned how to get hitters out without trying to throw every ball through a wall. If that has changed, so be it, and if the trainers and physio-engineers can prevent it, all the more power to them, but let's not change (shorten?) the game because pitchers now all have to throw the ball 100 mph.
I really don't understand the oblique and lat strains. I certainly cannot blindly place blame on players coming to camp out of shape. I know Manaea has spoken that he worked out at the same facility that Pete Alonso worked at all winter. I suspect it has more to do with trying to do too much too soon once they get to camp. Or their stretching routines are not optimized for the new ST workouts??
I have no idea how Alvarez hurt the hamate bone - I think I heard it was on a swing and he did not get hit by a pitch, but in any case, that is not a poor conditioning injury.
Injuries happen. Let's play baseball. (9 innings, at least)
I believe that there are more throwers now than pitchers because teams demand near 100 MPH fastballs and lots of strikeouts. The best pitchers today combine that fastball with lots of other pitchers and know how to pitch to contact thereby preserving their arms. That has been true forever. Greg Maddox is a great example of a pitcher who knew how to get players out, struck out many, but did it primarily with pitches other than his hittable 90 MPH fastball.
CTE in the NFL is probably the best guide. The NFL didn't change the rules to lower concussion risk until the players sued in court. MLB will probably pay lip service with studies, but it will change nothing until the players' union sues or makes UCL injuries a collective bargaining issue.
In the meantime, if the Dodgers offer a lesson, it's best to deal with injuries through depth on the roster. Looks like that's exactly what Stearns is doing.