The Effect of Major Pitching Arm Injuries

[yankeefan1024]

In my save, I've had many many elite pitchers have tommy john surgery in the prime of their careers. in literally every single instance, the guy went from 4+ stars to 0.5 stars by the time they came back.


i figured that if i slow played their return, did a full rehab assignment, even some time in the minors, or shorter appearances for a while to build up their pitch count that they'd eventually come back around, but literally none of them did.


has this happened to you guys where like any major pitching arm injury keeping them out like 8+ months leads to the absolute and irreversible decline of the pitcher in virtually all instances? or do you have a way to rehab them back?

[Cobbiusto]

I haven't seen this exact situation you mention, but this length of injury does seem to increase the chance the player becomes fragile or wrecked, which is about as damaging to their career path as the ratings downgrade.

My pet injury peeve of the moment is sprained ankles. I know we live in the era of pampered athletes, but I just had my league-leading homerun hitting 1st baseman go on the DL for 6 weeks for a sprained ankle. To add insult to injury, he just snuck off the DL long enough to win the home run challenge (that one needs to be fixed).

I've coached 8th and 9th grade girls with ankles swollen so badly they could hardly put on a shoe that would say nothing to anyone about it for the fear of being forced to sit out a game. I realize the injury description is more or less random, but maybe this one could be tied to only day-to-day injuries to keep my head from exploding. Or at least be accompanied by one of those "attendance almost crashed" alerts as fans go across town to watch the girls play softball.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Cobbiusto

My pet injury peeve of the moment is sprained ankles. I know we live in the era of pampered athletes, but I just had my league-leading homerun hitting 1st baseman go on the DL for 6 weeks for a sprained ankle. To add insult to injury, he just snuck off the DL long enough to win the home run challenge (that one needs to be fixed).

Six weeks is typical recovery time for a grade 3 ankle sprain.

[Carlton]

Originally Posted by Cobbiusto

My pet injury peeve of the moment is sprained ankles. I know we live in the era of pampered athletes, but I just had my league-leading homerun hitting 1st baseman go on the DL for 6 weeks for a sprained ankle. To add insult to injury, he just snuck off the DL long enough to win the home run challenge (that one needs to be fixed).

I've coached 8th and 9th grade girls with ankles swollen so badly they could hardly put on a shoe that would say nothing to anyone about it for the fear of being forced to sit out a game. I realize the injury description is more or less random, but maybe this one could be tied to only day-to-day injuries to keep my head from exploding. Or at least be accompanied by one of those "attendance almost crashed" alerts as fans go across town to watch the girls play softball.

But if those middle school girls made over a million dollars a season, they would be sitting or the Agent calls the Player Union and Front Office gets involved

[Cobbiusto]

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Six weeks is typical recovery time for a grade 3 ankle sprain.

Sure. But my point is, most people don't miss work for it or even sit out amateur sporting events. (or at least they didn't used to).

Originally Posted by Carlton

But if those middle school girls made over a million dollars a season, they would be sitting or the Agent calls the Player Union and Front Office gets involved

Not if the player is determined to play through the pain. Unless the position is one that requires a lot of speed, in football they usually just tape it up for support and go on. I remember a couple years ago a golfer fell and sprained his ankle in a practice round the day before one of the majors. He didn't miss the tournament.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by Cobbiusto

Sure. But my point is, most people don't miss work

Most people's work doesn't involve putting intense stress on their ankle

for it or even sit out amateur sporting events. (or at least they didn't used to).

Perhaps they should have

Not if the player is determined to play through the pain.

We need to quit seeing employees sacrificing their health and well-being for their employers as a positive

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Carlton

But if those middle school girls made over a million dollars a season, they would be sitting or the Agent calls the Player Union and Front Office gets involved

99% of the time it is the team protecting their investment.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Cobbiusto

Sure. But my point is, most people don't miss work for it or even sit out amateur sporting events. (or at least they didn't used to).

Tell that to the All-American women's basketball player at the university I work at who missed six weeks of her senior season with a sprained ankle.

Originally Posted by Cobbiusto

I remember a couple years ago a golfer fell and sprained his ankle in a practice round the day before one of the majors. He didn't miss the tournament.

You're thinking of Tony Finau at the 2018 Masters. That was a dislocated ankle, not a sprained ankle, which is different. I'm not sure you fully understand how severe a sprained ankle can be. A grade 3 ankle sprain means ligaments are fully torn.

I will admit that OOTP doesn't replicate sprained ankles correctly, as there are not varying degrees of severity within the game. Some sprained ankles - Grade 1 sprains - should be very minor day-to-day injuries. Others should be serious - Grade 3 - and cause a player to miss numerous weeks. OOTP does not seem to provide for that wide range of possibilities regarding missed playing time. Sprained ankles are also relatively rare in baseball, but it seems they occur in OOTP more often than is realistic (although I have no data to support that observation).

Originally Posted by Carlton

But if those middle school girls made over a million dollars a season, they would be sitting or the Agent calls the Player Union and Front Office gets involved

This is sort of an important point. But teams aren't afraid of the agent or the union so much as they're afraid of a highly paid player missing even more time if they rush back from an injury like a sprained ankle. The team would rather the player miss 4-6 weeks and return fully healthy than to miss 1-2 weeks (or less) by rushing back only to get hurt again or realize they're still injured, subsequently miss more time after that, which leads to missing more than six weeks in total, not to mention diminished performance for the short period the player returned.

[Cobbiusto]

I'm very surprised at all the pushback on my post. I really never expected there to be any reaction to it at all except maybe a chuckle. I guess I'm more of a dinosaur than I realized. At any rate, I didn't intend to initiate an argument so I will let the debate stand as it is. Hope everyone has a blessed day.

[Clavette]

I trade them as soon as they get hurt. They never seem to come back in 21

[stevem810]

I enjoyed the 'attendance almost crashed' line. Made me smile.