The Blind leading the Blind…
1January 27, 2011 by Gary McCoy
446 Major League Baseball players had a stint on the 2010 Disabled List. A total of 21,129 Playing Days were lost, costing some $479 Million in player salaries.
What will we pay for prevention?
Most MLB Clubs have a Strength Coach. Most minor league clubs also carry a strength coach. The salaries paid at the minor league level?
Try $1000 a month on average.
Who do you think is attracted to this salary? Recent graduates seeking work experience. And guess what … they work with MLB players at AA, AAA and during Spring training. Many suggest and recommend programs- exercises and supplementation, without a days experience in the game, or in the field of exercise science. They are hired because they look good. They are a “nice guy”- fun to have around.
It really is the Blind leading the Blind.
Is that why seasoned Vets – who see them coming like a freshman at the senior dance- wide eyed and ready- indicate they “have their own program”… or “I have my own guy…” ?
Good organizations understand the need to guide their interns, but just how can 4 interns manage – in some cases 180 athletes? The value of a minor League Coordinator is critical to the task of getting something done.
Poor Training = Injury
Training is cumulative. Poor training- unfortunately, is also cumulative, and detrimental to the neurophysiology of performance.
Is it time to review and revisit everything? Owners cant afford to NOT have their best assets on the field, yet we set them up for failure- by training them incorrectly.
Soft tissue injury accounts for most of the days lost. In 2010. Hamstring pulls…Oblique Strains… and looking closely- one of our esteemed organizational medical professionals simply stated that a players shoulder was feeling… “cranky”. Maybe he should use the same term for the owner and insurance companies who foot the bills.
Now, yes- some players dont want to play at certain times- we know this. Certain organizations will use the DL for player movement reasons… all this needs to be considered in any philosophical discussion of the DL.
Step up and make a change baseball… the 20th Century arrived 110 years ago… step into it for performance- we’ll all benefit.
Nice job Gary. This stuff needs to find more readers!