UTK Short 1/16/23
The Specialists
I responded to an interesting thread on Twitter from “seanflannery13” and after some discussion, I had the idea for this column.
Many seemed confused by the “Giants and Mets went to the same doctor!” issue that came up in Correa’s recent interview and comments from Scott Boras. This doctor was Dr. Robert Anderson and he’s the go-to guy for foot and ankle injuries in sports. He moved from Charlotte to Green Bay a couple years back, but teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB just changed flight plans and he’s stayed to go-to.
That two teams went to the same doctor isn’t surprising to me, and probably not to long time readers of UTK. The universe of doctors that teams trust is very small and when it comes to specialities, it’s even smaller. Break an ankle? You’re likely headed to Bob Anderson. Sprained thumb? Steven Shin at Kerlan-Jobe. Hurt your back? Bob Watkins in Los Angeles. Sports hernia? Everyone goes to Bill Meyers outside Philly.
These specialists are an even smaller universe, relatively, than the big name surgeons who do Tommy John, ACLs, shoulder surgeries, and Achilles — the generalists like Dr. James Andrews, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and Dr. Tim Kremchek are household names, but the specialists really have less competition. If a pitcher has Tommy John surgery, there’s probably ten names that are possible for high level and hundreds more team and community-level doctors who can do a fine job, but there’s only a handful that pro teams go to.
Is that the best system? The fact that two teams consulted the same doctor on the same injury isn’t collusion, but a strategy. High level sports teams use the best doctors. I can’t tell you how many times a player, agent, or a parent have called me and said “who should I go to for this injury?” Almost inevitably, I’ll start with their location and then end up telling them that it’s not as hard as you’d think to get in to one of the top surgeons. The number for an appointment with ElAttrache is right on his home page!
(Quick tip: If you’re in distance of one of the top surgeons, go there. Absent that, go to the team doctor of a local pro or college team. Even if they’re pay-docs, they tend to at least see more injuries and surgeries. Absent that, ask your local GP who they’d go to and really do your homework on whether or not this doctor does this specific surgery on your specific population regularly.)
There was no collusion to the Mets and Giants both seeking out Anderson’s opinion. The system created this. Watch the next ten foot or ankle injuries that are high level and I’ll bet Anderson comes up in at least eight of them if they go for a consult. There’s a reason.