Reese Kaplan -- How About Reducing the Severity of Injuries?

Health has been the predominant problem for the Mets during the past few years.  It really hit the fan in 2021 when they were second in major league baseball for the most time missed by the players.  As a result of this unforeseen scenario, the many who were sick and injured were sometimes rushed back without sufficient preparation to help stem the tide of the spiral from first towards last place.  As a result, they were either ill prepared or susceptible to aggravating whatever it was that took them off the field in the first place.

While everyone is spending lots of time speculating about who should manage the team or who should be added to the roster, the fact is that the endemic healthcare and conditioning of the players needs a major reinforcement to prevent a recurrence of this problem in 2022 and beyond.  There has not been much written about evaluating training methodologies, medical care and workout regimens.  Too many people think, "Well, they are professional athletes and they know what to do."

The fact is that many players received the right type of attention to build upon their natural abilities as they ascended from the schoolyard into professional sports.  However, it seems that aside from some visible pre-game exercises that not much is done to pay attention to conditioning and individual workout regimens.  

A good example is Noah Syndergaard who built up his already impressive physique with weightlifting and other exercises that added a significant amount of muscle to his frame.  Not coincidentally he wound up missing a lot of time with various injuries throughout his career including the surgery which wiped out his aborted 2020 and nearly full 2021 seasons.  One would think that players like Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and even Doc Gooden who went through their careers without the tremendous number of games missed due to arm, leg, elbow, oblique or shoulder ailments.

It would seem that it makes sense to take a look at the best medical and physiological programs at various universities to understand the state of the art in development, training and maintenance exercising.  After that, the same type of study needs to be done with the top private experts throughout the world who have an established track record on what can and should be done for ballplayers.

Far be it from me to suggest what is the right formula for each player, but even I know that what is necessary for a starting pitcher is different for a relief pitcher.  What a speedster requires is not the same as what a thumper must develop.  While it may be wise to have a Pete Alonso work on enhancing his muscle mass while someone like Starling Marte may be more suited to increasing flexibility and stretching to preserve and enhance his running game.  There is no one-size-fits-all program of exercise yet with the myriad of problems the Mets have faced one is left wondering if they are indeed developing customized programs for each and every player. 

One of the things Billy Eppler and company should be doing during this lockout is taking the now available time to beef up the training and development programs available as well as the same type of analysis of the medical team.  For a long time it seemed as if a Mets player got a hangnail he was done for the season while other teams had players out for brief intervals and then returned to productive output.  Mets fans and media alike would be ecstatic to see the club make this type of change.  However, no one would be happier than the players themselves who take pride in their accomplishments and know that the biggest checks only go to the players who are maximizing their efforts.