Under The Knife 11/11/21

Who's The Best?

Some think of Under The Knife as a record of failure. Injuries are not destiny, nor are they a lack of toughness, some sign of fragility, or anything else that some try to project on to them. An injury is just an injury, the physical manifestation of the body’s limits. “Luck” is a part of it. Accidents happen in all areas of life and no matter how hard someone works, running into a wall, getting hit in the head, or making an awkward jump on a warning track can lead to months of rehab and an inability to play.

That said, the hard work of an entire team surrounding an athlete can make a big difference. The medical team, the strength and conditioning staff, the sports science staff, the coaches, and the front office all have some impact on an athlete and in sports, results matter. Rewards and consequences come and those have little correlation with things people tend to believe. The best and worst medical staffs in baseball all have similar qualifications, are all experiences, and probably put in similar time at work - and it’s a lot. What it comes down to is system in most cases, and were they able to create a culture where health isn’t luck.

This year, the best results went to one of two teams, depending on how you look at the data. Cleveland had the fewest days lost, but Oakland felt less impact from a handful more days lost. If I were still giving out an award, it would go to Oakland based on the methodology I used.

Nick Paparesta and his staff have put the Oakland medical staff at the top of the game (or bottom of the charts, if you’d rather look at it that way) and pushed the organization from one that was regularly dealing with injuries to one that allows the front office to take on risk and get the most out of them. I had to look and Nick’s been there over a decade now, coming over from (where else?) Tampa and while the turnaround wasn’t overnight, he’s remade the team and allowed them to be competitive by keeping the payroll they have on the field more often.

Nothing exemplified the excellence of care like when Chris Bassitt was injured by a comebacker. Watch how quickly Paparesta is on the field and care begins. If you can’t watch that tough video again, I have him timed at 11 seconds, part of which was continuing play. Bassitt’s injury care began that quickly and has to be considered a major part of why he was able to come back to the game just weeks later.

In Cleveland, the team name may be changing, but Lonnie Soloff has been there almost twenty years and Cleveland is consistently one of the best medical staffs in terms of results. They won my award multiple times and several members went on to other orgs, including Nick Kenney with the Royals. Soloff led a staff that dealt with injuries to a young team, but minimized them in many areas when injuries did occur. The medical staff also had to deal with a changing roster, which can be difficult as players shuffle in and out, or down to Columbus and back.

Sorry, guys, there’s no lucite trophy any more, but hopefully more outlets will pick up on the great work these staffs are doing. I know teams will be looking for the next Paparesta or Soloff the next time they have an opening, or if they’re a team that finds themselves on the other side in terms of results.