Photo Credit:Steve Delabar on Twitter; @BlueJaysAggr @SteveDelabar_50
Although one would hope that the likelihood of what Yanks’ official team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmed says in a post on Medium.com regarding the risks of starting up the season too soon is about the same as the likelihood of a real-life scenario pertaining to the (ahem) film referenced in the title… aaaaand now I’m stuck, because I just can’t understand or accept why that film was even made. But Dr. Ahmed has some thoughts that might stick you just as easily and unpleasantly.
Dr. James Andrews, another noted physician who has performed numerous Tommy John surgeries for MLB pitchers, has also spoken numerous times about the uptick in these type of injuries in recent years, and both have warned of the potential of an epidemic going forward, though here Dr. Ahmed posits on how the Covid-19 pandemic could hasten such an epidemic.
To me; someone who has also often pondered to anyone and no one about the fast-rising volume of injuries and surgeries, this is definitely worth considering before we beg for baseball (or any sport for that matter) to return to whatever normal ends up being. Yeah, life without sports can be a living hell if you’re used to watching it year-round. But Tommy John surgery is by no means cute, and neither is the prospect of a preposterous number of pitchers succumbing to it while trying to entertain the restless masses sooner than they should have.
Nice comments, Chyll. I've read that the uptick in TJ operations may be due to the fact that kids are playing ball all years round, instead of playing other sports as well. That, and the increase in travel teams and crazy LL coaches trying to get 12year olds to throw harder.
I'm with you on re-opening sports. Miss it like crazy, but life won't be "normal" with 2,000 - 3,000 Americans dying every day, and until we can get a vaccine that works.Tragic lack of national leadership.