Yeah, there's absolutely a huge psychological component to the game, but this is not an efficient way to tap into that. Actually, the more I play the game at as I get older, the more I think it's maybe one of the most injury-likely sports. There are just so many weird movements throughout the whole body combined with a lot of burst sprinting on every single play. Play 162+ games is a gauntlet other sports fans really do not appreciate. When you do get injured, you need lots of rest and careful rehab to come back properly healed. That said, one thing I mention so frequently I lose track of who I say it to is that I think professional sports teams ought to have entire dedicated mental health crews alongside their physical trainers. Psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, the works. When a guy is there wondering to himself why he's seemingly lacking the adrenaline and focus he feels he should have for the sport he loves, he ought to have someone to talk to confidentially and without stigma about it. And prescribe him psych meds if necessary. Your teammates and your coach, no matter how much they love you, are not a substitute for that.
We pay so much attention to details these days. It seemed like once upon a time, very few of these seem to matter. Guys smoked cigarettes between innings. Pitch counts were hardly paid attention to. A guy felt good, he played. End of story. And yet, baseball was still good. Maybe better?
Tough to get around stigma part. I've heard teams going with mental coaches, but I don't see Dr. before their names (i.e., how much is healthy versus rah rah talk). Though therapists dont need to be doctors. I worry the mental coaches are hacks that have baseball cred. I dont believe everyone needs a therapist, but it would be good if one was available for players. Baseball seems to have a weird culture.
I’ve got a life coach and a business coach and am in a mastermind group- I probably invest 20k a year in making sure I’m properly trained, motivated and coached. I’m a middle age schmuck that if everything goes right I might level up from low to mid 6 figures to low low low 7 figures. I can’t imagine professions athletes with the grind of public performance and 8 or 9 figures at stake, not benefiting from something similar.
It's not something the teams or MLB publicize for whatever reason, but MLB has made huge strides in this area starting about a decade ago. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/November-2010/Athletes-and-Mental-Illness-Major-League-Baseball https://www.si.com/vault/2010/06/21/105951448/a-light-in-the-darkness Any player can get any kind of help he needs through the team, and any who are still hesitant to do so for fear of repercussions or being stigmatized are free to seek outside help, just like they would a nutritionist, physical therapist, trainer, etc....
Rehab assignment is about testing to see if the body is right and to adjust to pitching/batting again.
If Straw (.400+ OBP/.800+ OPS) and Alvarez have regressed to the norm, sign me up for a career of their norm.
Considering most players don't play the full game in a rehab assignment... you can't waste a spot on the 25 man roster for that...
I think OP misses the point , but I liked that he at least tried to make an interesting suggestion and explain his thinking . Garm could use more of this
Wow. Somebody could disagree but still find some good (without being backhanded about it). World could use more of this.
I think both have merit. You lay out some interesting reasons why going straight back into the majors make sense. The "reset" of bad habits. Kind of like golf. When you don't play for a while some folks tend to hit better shots when they first get back into it due to bad habits being dropped during the layoff. Adrenaline. Sure. BUUUT. At the same time look at Tucker. He came up and fell on his face. So not everyone plays better when they first get back or change situations etc due to adrenaline. I think one could argue that the decision on a rehab stint should be decided on a player by player basis. A 30 something player who has been there done that and is consistent should be able to be plugged right back in. For instance if a player that rhymes is mustard hamburger (don't want to jinx anyone) goes out for a month he could step right back in and probably pitch just fine. But a Josh James. He would need to go down and get his head back into it. I would not have a problem with clubs exempting some players from rehab assignments based on their psychology and experience.
