March 15, 2007
Protecting the Catcher
Rick Hurd writes on the steps the Giants are taking to protect catchers in light of Mike Matheny's career ending concussion:
Conte was the Giants' lead trainer when Matheny's saga began, and as the weeks passed without any resolution, he said the team's medical staff pursued as much information as it could. He said they interviewed more than 250 professional catchers about headaches, blurred vision, dizziness and other symptoms that occurred often after a steady diet of foul tips to the grill.
They also examined the effectiveness of hockey masks -- a one-piece mask that covers more of the skull -- when compared with conventional masks against 94- to 104-mph baseballs. They watched every game of the 2005 season on videotape and determined that catchers get nailed slightly less than one time per game.
They also discovered that early concussive symptoms in catchers were present through the course of a season, "only we never knew it because catchers are conditioned to play through anything," Conte said.
So now they're watching for signs of concussion early:
Now, in the name of Mike Matheny, it's time for the un-conditioning to start. The Giants' research helped lead to refinements in a basic cognitive-skills test that the St. Louis Cardinals already had in place, and Conte said it's hopeful that the test eventually will be standard operating procedure for every team in the majors.
"It would give you a baseline to start with," he said. "That way, we'll have a better idea if something fishy is happening."
Posted by David Pinto at
10:25 AM
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Injuries
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Shouldn't this be a baseball wide thing, rather than team by team?
It might be worth clarifying that the Conte in question is Stan, the longtime MLB athletic trainer, not Victor, the BALCO mastermind.