Treatment of Grade III Acromioclavicular Separations in Professional Baseball Pitchers: A Survey of Major League Baseball Team Physicians

Financial advisors often emphasize asset diversification as a means of limiting losses from investments that perform unexpectedly poorly over a particular time period. One might expect that this perceived wisdom could apply in another high stakes arena–professional baseball–where player salaries comprise a substantial portion of a team’s operational costs, year-to-year player performance is highly variable, and injuries can occur at any time. These attributes are particularly true in the case of the starting pitching staffs of professional baseball teams. Accordingly, this study analyzes starting pitcher performance and financial data from all Major League Baseball teams for the period 1985–2016 to determine whether the standard investment advice is applicable in this context, understanding that the time horizon for success for an investor and a baseball team may be distinct. A multiple logistic regression model of playoff qualification probability, based on realized pitcher performance, measures of luck, and starting pitcher staff salary diversification is used to address this question. A further stratification is conducted to determine whether there are differences in strategy for teams with allocated financial resources that are above or below league average. We find that teams with above average resources increase their post-season qualification probability by focusing their salary funds on a relative few starting pitchers rather than diversifying that investment across the staff. Second, we find that pitcher performance must align with that investment in order for the team to have a high qualification probability. Third, the influence of luck is not negligible, but those teams that allocate more overall funds to their pitching are more resilient to bad luck. Thus, poorly resourced teams, who are generally unable to bid for pitchers at the highest salary levels, must adopt alternative strategies to maintain their competitiveness.

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Analysis of Injuries and Pitching Performance Between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball: A 2-Team Comparison Between 2015 to 2019

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/23259671211008810 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 232596712110088

Author(s):

Ryan L. Crotin ◽

Toshimasa Yanai ◽

Peter Chalmers ◽

Kenneth B. Smale ◽

Brandon J. Erickson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Los Angeles ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Professional Baseball ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Mechanism Of Injury ◽

Research Collaborations ◽

Minor League ◽

Major League ◽

Player Game ◽

And Performance

Background: There has been minimal research investigating injury and pitching performance differences between Major League Baseball (MLB) and other professional leagues. Purpose/Hypothesis: This 2-team comparison between MLB and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) involved affiliated players over 5 years. We hypothesized that teams would differ in the injury incidence, mechanism of injury, pitch velocity, and pitch type usage. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Between 2015 and 2019, pitching data as well as injury statistics for the highest level and minor league affiliates of the Los Angeles Angels (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (NPB) were reviewed for significant differences in the injury prevalence, injury type, mechanism of injury, and days missed. In total, 3781 MLB and 371 NPB injuries were studied. Results: MLB-affiliated players were significantly younger, taller, and heavier ( P < .001) than were NPB-affiliated players. MLB-affiliated pitchers threw faster than did their NPB counterparts ( P = .026). MLB minor league pitchers threw more curveballs than did NPB minor league pitchers ( P = .004), and MLB minor league relief pitchers threw more sliders than did NPB minor league relief pitchers ( P = .02). The MLB team had a 3.7-fold higher incidence of injuries versus the NPB team (0.030 vs 0.008 injuries per player-game, respectively) as well as more repeat injuries, with fewer days missed per injury (15.8 ± 54.7 vs 36.2 ± 55.1 days, respectively; P < .001). The MLB team also had a higher percentage of injuries that were throwing related ( P < .001), were contact related ( P < .001), and occurred outside of competition ( P < .001) compared with the NPB team. Conclusion: This is the first empirical study examining injury trends and pitching characteristics between MLB and NPB athletes. MLB-affiliated pitchers threw faster and relied more on breaking pitches in comparison with NPB-affiliated pitchers. From injury data, MLB players were younger, taller, and heavier with a higher percentage of throwing-related injuries, contact injuries, and injuries sustained outside of competition. Overall, the MLB team indicated a 3.7-fold higher rate of reported injuries with fewer days missed per injury than did the NPB team. Competitive conditions are distinctly different between MLB and NPB, and thus, more extensive research collaborations in the future can identify best practices to advance health and performance for both leagues.

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The Impact of Pitch Counts and Days of Rest on Performance Among Major-League Baseball Pitchers

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ◽

10.1519/jsc.0b013e31824e16fe ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 1181-1187 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

John C. Bradbury ◽

Sean L. Forman

Keyword(s):

Major League Baseball ◽

Major League ◽

Baseball Pitchers ◽

The Impact

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Should We Limit Innings Pitched Following Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers?

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967116s00109 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (7_suppl4) ◽

pp. 2325967116S0010

Author(s):

Brandon J. Erickson ◽

Gregory Cvetanovich ◽

Bernard R. Bach ◽

Charles A. Bush-Joseph ◽

Nikhil N. Verma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ligament Reconstruction ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Ulnar Collateral Ligament ◽

Collateral Ligament ◽

Major League ◽

Baseball Pitchers ◽

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction

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A Comparison of Cardinal Gaze Speed between Major League Baseball Players, Amateur Prospects, and Non-athletes

Journal of Sports and Performance Vision ◽

10.22374/jspv.v2i1.5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. e17-e28

Author(s):

Karla Kubitz ◽

Claire-Marie Roberts ◽

Melissa Hunfalvay ◽

Nicholas Murray

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Professional Baseball ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Major League

PurposeSensorimotor variables have been shown to predict performance in professional baseball players. However, cardinal gaze speed in baseball players has received only limited attention. This study tested the hypothesis that the cardinal gaze speed in Major League Baseball (MLB) players would be faster than in amateur prospects and non-athletes. MethodSeventeen MLB athletes, 160 amateur prospects, and 128 non-athletes were tested using an eye-tracking test (i.e., the RightEye CGP test) designed to measure cardinal gaze speed. ResultsMLB players had significantly faster cardinal gaze speed than either amateur prospects or non-athletes. Moreover, there were significant differences in cardinal gaze speed across different directions. ConclusionsThis was the first study to examine the speed of gaze in the cardinal positions in an athletic context. The results highlight the significant difference in cardinal gaze speed between MLB players, amateur prospects, and non-athletes.

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The Dominican Republic and the development of the Major League Baseball Team Academy

Contemporary Sport Marketing ◽

10.4324/9781315265490-5 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 72-91

Author(s):

K. Alexander Schmidt ◽

Scott Tainsky ◽

Becca Leopkey

Keyword(s):

Dominican Republic ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Major League ◽

Baseball Team

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Analysis of Non-Game Injuries in Major League Baseball

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967119888499 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 232596711988849

Author(s):

Amanda Esquivel ◽

Michael T. Freehill ◽

Frank C. Curriero ◽

Kevin L. Rand ◽

Stan Conte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Recent Literature ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Tracking System ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Primary Diagnosis ◽

Professional Baseball ◽

Baseball Players ◽

Minor League Baseball ◽

Minor League ◽

Major League

Background: Numerous studies have investigated injuries and treatments in the baseball athlete. The majority of these studies have focused on the throwing shoulder and elbow. However, more recent literature is reporting injuries to other regions in this cohort, including the knee, head, hip, and hamstring. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of the current study was to determine the number and type of injuries in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players that do not occur during the actual game but are related to baseball participation. Our hypothesis was that there would be a substantial number of injuries that occurred in professional baseball players during non-game situations. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: Deidentified, anonymous data were collected from the 2011 through 2016 seasons from the MLB Health and Injury Tracking System (HITS) medical record database. All injuries that were identified as a primary diagnosis and resulted in at least 1 day out of play from both MLB and MiLB were examined. Injuries were categorized as occurring during the game (“game” injuries) or not during the game. A “non-game” injury was defined as occurring at any time other than during the scheduled game from the first to last pitch. Results: There were 51,548 total injuries in MLB and MiLB players from 2011 to 2016, almost 40% of which were attributed to non–game-related injuries (n = 19,201; 37.2%). The remainder occurred during a game (n = 32,347; 62.8%). A significantly greater percentage of non-game injuries were season ending (10.8%) compared with the percentage of game-related season-ending injuries (8.4%) ( P < .0001). Pitchers had significantly more non–game-related injuries than game-related injuries ( P < .0001). Conclusion: A large number of injuries occur in professional baseball outside of actual games. MiLB players, specifically pitchers, are particularly at risk for these types of injuries. It is feasible that the overall injury rate in professional baseball players could be reduced by analyzing these injuries in more detail to develop prevention strategies.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of the Asymptomatic Elbow Predict Injuries and Surgery in Major League Baseball Pitchers

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967118818413 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 232596711881841 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Grant H. Garcia ◽

Anirudh K. Gowd ◽

Brandon C. Cabarcas ◽

Joseph N. Liu ◽

John R. Meyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

Operative Procedure ◽

Imaging Findings ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Mri Findings ◽

Major League ◽

Mri Scans ◽

Baseball Pitchers

Background: Repetitive pitching produces significant stress on the elbow that may result in structural abnormalities discernable on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without causing symptoms. Purpose: To determine whether there exists an association between subclinical MRI findings in asymptomatic elbows of Major League Baseball (MLB) players and future placement on the disabled list (DL) or future operative procedure. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: MRI scans of the elbows of professional-level baseball pitchers, taken during routine presigning imaging at a single organization from 2005 to 2017, were retrospectively reviewed. Publicly available databases were queried to exclude pitchers with an injury before the earliest session of elbow MRI. Three blinded reviewers reviewed all MRI scans independently to evaluate for the presence of chondral damage to the joint, loose bodies, ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) heterogeneity or tears, flexor pronator mass defects, and signs of posteromedial (PM) impingement. Binary imaging findings were related to future placement on the DL for elbow complaints and future elbow surgery. Results: A total of 41 pitchers had asymptomatic MRI findings with no prior DL placement. For players who eventually went on the DL, there were a statistically greater number of players with UCL heterogeneity ( P = .021), humeral-sided partial UCL tears ( P = .031), and PM impingement ( P = .004) on preinjury MRI compared with players who remained healthy. PM impingement was related to future elbow-related surgery ( P = .003). Pitchers with UCL heterogeneity were associated with reduced career strike zone percentage, innings pitched, and fastball percentage ( P < .05 for all). Conclusion: UCL heterogeneity, PM impingement, and humeral-sided partial tears were correlated with future DL placement for elbow-related reasons in MLB pitchers. Asymptomatic PM impingement may be a precursor to future surgery.

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