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Background: Even though return to play is important for Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers and teams, return to performance after ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery using several advanced analytic and pitch-tracking metrics has not been well studied. Purpose: To evaluate return to performance in MLB pitchers using modern advanced analytic and pitch-tracking metrics at 1, 2, and 3 seasons after UCL surgery. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 129 MLB pitchers who underwent primary UCL reconstruction or repair between November 2017 and November 2023 and reported return-to-play and return-to-performance rates at 1, 2, and 3 seasons postoperatively. Return-to-performance data were then collected for 58 MLB pitchers who had at least 2 seasons of postoperative data using public sources affiliated with MLB and used in previous studies. Return-to-performance analysis consisted of paired and unpaired t tests comparing preoperative and postoperative metrics. The percentage of pitchers who returned to their preinjury performance for each respective advanced analytic or pitch-tracking metric was also recorded for each season after surgery. Return to full performance, defined as a pitcher returning to form in each key metric including expected fielding independent pitching, FanGraphs wins above replacement (fWAR), velocity, fastball velocity, and spin rate, was also evaluated. Data on advanced analytics released in 2020 measuring the physical quality of pitches (Stuff+), command of the strike zone (Location+), and overall pitching ability (Pitching+) was also examined for the first time. Binary logistic regression was conducted to evaluate for any predictive factors of return to performance. Results: The mean age was 27.6 ± 3.0 years. 1.6% returned to play at 1 year, 71.9% at 2 years, and 82.0% at 3 years from reported date of surgery with a mean of 584 ± 194 days. At 3 seasons postoperatively, pitchers returned to performance in pitch count (55%), expected fielding independent pitching (68%), fWAR (48%), velocity (76%), fastball velocity (80%), horizontal movement (81%), vertical movement (66%), Stuff+ (78%), Location+ (89%), and Pitching+ (78%) at varying degrees. Only 3.9%, 11.8%, and 28.1% of pitchers returned to full performance by 1, 2, and 3 seasons postoperatively, respectively. Only an additional 19.3% of pitchers met 4 out of 5 full performance criteria. Binary logistic regression identified starting pitchers and preoperative faster velocity and older age as strong negative predictors of return to full performance. Conclusion: Pitchers provided only half of their value to teams at 3 years postoperatively, despite presumably being physically recovered. Even though most pitchers regained their previous form in various pitching metrics, the majority of pitchers did not return to full form. Overall, being a starting pitcher was the strongest negative predictor of returning to full performance, followed by faster preoperative velocity and older age. The return-to-performance rate for each pitching metric improved season to season after returning from an injury. Despite returning to play at high rates, pitchers still needed time to recover their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractGlobal sports events draw billions of viewers worldwide and have a powerful impact on businesses, brands, and the broader economy. Performance measurements of global sports need to incorporate Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) that involves both qualitative and quantitative factors.We present a new confirmatory multicriteria spatial model for assessing performance in Global Sports Marketing. As an application, we examine the major dimensions of Major League Baseball (MLB) involving 22 different measures reflecting five dimensions of starting pitcher evaluation, starting from the sports literature: Endurance, Dominance, Winning, Runs Allowed, and Men on Base. We devise a confirmatory Spatial Vector Joint Space methodology and demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology. Using empirical data for some 66 starting pitchers currently in the Hall of Fame, we provide an analysis using our proposed methodology concerning five confirmatory dimensions. We also provide comparative validation for our proposed model in evaluating the seven Hall of Fame-eligible starting pitchers on the 2022 ballot. We discuss how the proposed methodology can be easily extended to other performance evaluation applications relevant to the Global Marketing arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rottenberg argued that the reassignment of negotiating rights from owners to players, that would accompany free agency in professional sports, would have little impact on locational or market outcomes. Empirical investigations into such reassignment have produced mixed results. The present paper examines the impact such reassignment had on professional sports athletes' career length. By examining the univariate time series and panel data behavior of Major League Baseball players' average tenure and retention rates, we find that the increased negotiating power associated with the advent of free agency had the impact of shortening average player career length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced a decision to formally include records of Negro League Baseball games as 'official' Major League status. Against the backdrop of widespread protests for social justice and discourses surrounding racial reckoning occurring during that same year, the decision garnered heightened importance given baseball's symbolic resonance within US public culture. This essay asserts this decision, and the coverage it received among prominent sports outlets, reveal a rhetorical hierarchy wherein "Major League Baseball" status serves to legitimize the historical contributions of Negro League players via an act of statistical integration. In granting official "Major League" status to the Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball operates from a position of institutional legitimacy, statistically integrating the Negro Leagues via an act of mortification. Ultimately this serves to rhetorically construct a post-racial history of the game and reassert the legitimacy of baseball's statistical record. The implications of this analysis for scholars of sport, rhetoric, and public memory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding interactions between multiple risk factors for shoulder and elbow injuries in Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers is important to identify potential avenues by which risk can be reduced while minimizing impact on player performance. Purpose: To apply a novel game theory–based approach to develop a machine-learning model predictive of next-season shoulder and elbow injuries in MLB pitchers and use this model to understand interdependencies and interaction effects between the most important risk factors. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Pitcher demographics, workload measures, pitch-tracking metrics, and injury data between 2017 and 2022 were used to construct a database of MLB pitcher-years, where each item in the database corresponded to a pitcher's information and metrics for that year. An extreme gradient boosting machine-learning model was trained to predict next-season shoulder and elbow injuries utilizing Shapley additive explanation values to quantify feature importance as well as interdependencies and interaction effects between predictive variables. Results: A total of 3808 pitcher-years were included in this analysis; 606 (15.9%) of these involved a shoulder or elbow injury resulting in placement on the MLB injured list. Of the >65 candidate features (including workload, demographic, and pitch-tracking metrics), the most important contributors to predicting shoulder/elbow injury were increased: pitch velocity (all pitch types), utilization of sliders (SLs), fastball (FB) spin rate, FB horizontal movement, and player age. The strongest game theory interaction effects were that higher FB velocity did not alter a younger pitcher's predicted risk of shoulder/elbow injury versus older pitchers, risk of shoulder/elbow injury increased with the number of high-velocity pitches thrown (regardless of pitch type and in an additive fashion), and FB velocity <95 mph (<152.9 kph) demonstrated strong negative interaction effects with higher SL percentage, suggesting that the overall predicted risk of injury for pitchers throwing a high number of SLs could be attenuated by lower FB velocity. Conclusion: Pitch-tracking metrics were substantially more predictive of future injury than player demographics and workload metrics. There were many significant game theory interdependencies of injury risk. Notably, the increased risk of injury that was conferred by throwing with a high velocity was even further magnified if the pitchers were also older, threw a high percentage of SLs, and/or threw a greater number of pitches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Major league baseball teams routinely use analytics to position infielders based on hitter tendencies, but these data do not always provide a complete story. If a hitter always pulls [...]

Objective: Determine whether there was an increased incidence of hit-by-pitch events in Major League Baseball (MLB) following the decision to enforce the foreign substance ban for pitchers during the 2021 season. Design: Descriptive Epidemiological Study. Setting: Major League Baseball hit-by-pitch data from publicly available Web sites ( mlb.com and fangraphs.com ). Participants: Major League Baseball players during the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 seasons. Independent variables: Hit-by-pitch exposure data by season and individual pitch type. Main outcome measures: Hit-by-pitch incidence rates from the 2017 to 2019 seasons (preenforcement) and the 2021 to 2022 seasons (postenforcement). Rates were compared with incidence rate ratios (IRRs). Results: Hit-by-pitch incidence rate increased from 2.66 to 3.06 per 1000 total pitches (IRR, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.08-1.23]; P < 0.0001) following the enforcement. Incidence rates for 2017, 2018, and 2019 did not differ from each other individually, but incidence rate of all 3 seasons individually were significantly lower than that for the 2021 season ( P < 0.005). Sliders were 29% more likely to hit batters following the enforcement ( P = 0.0015). Conclusions: Major League Baseball batters were hit by pitches at a significantly higher rate following the league's crackdown on foreign substance use for the 2021 seasons compared with the same time of year during the 2017 to 2019 seasons. This was followed by a slight regression toward preenforcement levels during the 2022 season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to determine the financial costs of recent injuries and market expectations of players' future attrition rates by investigating the impacts on free agent contract designs, as represented by the yearly salary and contract length. The empirical findings, derived from data about 698 free agent contracts in Major League Baseball between 2011 and 2018, indicate that injuries exert different impacts on salaries versus contract lengths. For example, free agents who recently injured an elbow or shoulder receive shorter contracts than those not injured in the previous season, but their salaries are not affected. Market expectations of player attrition in the upcoming season reduce both contract lengths and salaries. For players, these results reaffirm the importance of staying healthy and finding ways to signal the low likelihood of future injuries to ensure their remuneration. For managers, the results emphasize the need to track free agents' health status carefully, especially to avoid a winner's curse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies whether Major League Baseball umpires displayed home bias in their pitch calls, using data on pitch call accuracy from the 2010–2019 seasons to isolate evaluator bias from player performances. The main findings are consistent with umpire home bias, as home batters on average received more called balls on actual ball pitches and fewer called strikes on actual strike pitches, which work in their favor. The bias is not entirely explained by umpire, player, or stadium characteristics, nor is it attributable to umpiring inconsistencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a confounding decision by the Supreme Court in the 1920s, the sport of professional baseball was permitted to grow for over a century unconstrained by federal antitrust laws. As a result of this antitrust exemption, professional baseball players were forced to endure unique hardships in the area of labor relations, as compared to athletes in other professional sports. After decades of confusing litigation results and calls for legislation, Congress finally responded in 1998 through passage of the Curt Flood Act. However, despite broadly claiming to apply federal antitrust laws to the sport of professional baseball, the effect of the Act was far more limited. Therefore, Major League Baseball players have been forced to look elsewhere when seeking external influences to force concessions at the bargaining table. Unlike Major League Baseball players, Minor League Baseball players were unable to even approach the bargaining table until very recently. Thus, while Major League Baseball players spent decades achieving small victories to cumulatively improve their labor conditions, such opportunities were unavailable to Minor League Baseball players. However, recent years have seen this trend come to an end. Today, Minor League Baseball players possess union representation and a seat at the bargaining table. In light of these advances, legitimate questions have been raised as to the modern need for an antitrust exemption that places labor relations in baseball on an uneven playing field compared to other professional sports. Although the future of the exemption is unclear, recent history suggests that both the Supreme Court and Congress have taken note of these developments and are beginning to reexamine the modern justifications of an antitrust exemption for professional baseball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is the primary soft tissue stabilizer to valgus stress in the elbow and is placed under this valgus stress during the throwing motion. Although there are known risk factors for UCL injury, it is unknown whether the UCL undergoes adaptive changes in athletes from different climates. Purpose: To compare elbow stress ultrasound (SUS) findings between professional baseball pitchers from warm climates versus cold climates and assess significant differences in adaptive and morphologic changes in the UCL. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Dynamic SUS evaluations were performed over 18 years on the dominant and nondominant arms of 643 professional pitchers from warm and cold climates as determined by the player's country/state of origin. Studies were compared with respect to relative UCL thickness (dominant arm vs nondominant arm), relative glenohumeral joint laxity (joint space distance under stress vs joint space distance at rest), and the presence of morphologic changes such as tears or calcifications. In addition, a subgroup analysis was performed to compare the progression of SUS findings over 3 years in players with sequential yearly data. Results: Players from warmer climates had significantly greater relative UCL thicknesses than players from colder climates (1.75 vs 1.50 mm, respectively; P = .047). There were no differences between these 2 groups in terms of relative ulnohumeral joint laxity (P = .201), presence of morphologic changes (P = .433), 3-year progression of relative UCL thickness (P = .748), or relative joint laxity (P = .904). Conclusion: Professional pitchers from warm climates had a greater side-to-side difference in UCL thickness between the dominant and nondominant arms. This may be due to the potential for year-round throwing among baseball players from warm climates. There was no difference in laxity, thickness progression, laxity progression, or the presence of additional morphologic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injuries to the medial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) are common among baseball pitchers due to repetitive stress on the soft tissue stabilizers of the elbow during pitching. Dynamic stress ultrasound (SUS) can be used to evaluate the UCL and ulnohumeral joint to identify anatomic risk factors of those who will require UCL reconstruction (UCLR). Purpose: To determine whether any adaptive or morphological changes detectable on SUS can predict injury to the UCL in professional baseball pitchers. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 203 professional baseball pitchers who underwent SUS at preseason training sessions over the course of 18 years were categorized into 1 of 2 groups: those without a history of shoulder, arm, elbow, or forearm surgery or injuries (healthy cohort; n = 184) and those who underwent UCLR the same season as SUS (UCLR cohort; n = 19). Ligament thickness, joint spacing, and laxity were compared. An additional matched cohort analysis was conducted using 10 players from each group to detect differences in the progression of UCL and ulnohumeral joint measures in the year before injury. Results: The UCLR cohort, when compared with the healthy cohort, had higher relative (ie, nondominant-side measurements subtracted from dominant-side measurements) resting ulnohumeral joint space (median, 0.50 vs 0.20 mm, respectively; P =.006) and higher rates of hypoechoic foci (57.9% vs 30.4%, respectively; P =.030). Players of both groups had similar dominant UCL thickness (P =.161), ulnohumeral joint space at rest (P =.321), space under stress (P =.498), and laxity (P =.796). Groups did not differ in terms of relative UCL thickness, ulnohumeral joint space under stress, or relative laxity. In the year before UCL injury, the UCLR cohort, compared with the matched healthy cohort, had a greater increase in mean dominant UCL thickness (0.94 vs –0.60 mm, respectively; P =.038) and a greater increase in relative median UCL thickness (1.35 vs –0.35 mm, respectively; P =.045). Players in the healthy cohort were statistically older than those in the UCLR cohort (23 vs 22 years, respectively; P =.004). No differences in ulnohumeral stress spacing or laxity were detected. Conclusion: SUS of players who underwent UCLR demonstrated a progressive increase in UCL thickness over 1 year, higher rates of hypoechoic foci, and increased ulnohumeral rest space compared with SUS of uninjured players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a paucity of data analyzing dynamic stress ultrasound (SUS) findings in elite pitchers who have undergone ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction (UCLR) and returned to sport. Purpose: To identify longitudinal, perioperative changes in the elbows of professional baseball pitchers who have undergone UCLR and to compare these findings with a matched cohort of healthy pitchers. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This study used prospectively collected data from dynamic elbow SUS analyses of professional baseball pitchers within a single Major League Baseball organization. Pitchers were divided into 2 cohorts: a UCLR cohort and healthy cohort. The UCLR cohort eligibility included availability of (1) SUS from preseason of injury/UCLR and (2) SUS from ≥2 years after surgery. These players were 1:1 matched to players with no history of upper extremity injury to form the healthy cohort. Ligament thickness and ulnohumeral joint space at rest and under stress were directly measured. Joint laxity was calculated by subtracting joint space at rest from joint space under stress. The term "relative" was used to describe calculated differences where nondominant measurements were subtracted from dominant-side measurements. Results: Eight pitchers were included in the UCLR group and matched to 8 healthy pitchers (mean age at initial SUS examination, 19.6 years). At a minimum follow-up of 2 years, there were no significant differences between groups in terms of relative or dominant arm rest space, stress space, or laxity. Longitudinally (final measurements – baseline measurements), the mean relative ulnohumeral rest space decreased in the UCLR group and increased in the healthy group (–0.36 mm vs +0.50 mm; P =.032). The finding of increased UCL thickness in the UCLR group was expected, as UCL grafts are typically thicker than native ligaments. Conclusion: Ulnhohumeral joint stability was achieved after UCLR as indicated by similar rest space, stress space, and joint laxity in dominant arms compared with a matched healthy cohort. A significant decrease in relative rest space after UCLR may represent the achievement of stability in surgery patients. Alternatively, the increase in ulnohumeral rest space seen in the healthy cohort may represent adaptive changes from pitching at a professional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the American Communist Party's newspaper the Daily Worker and its long-time sports editor Lester Rodney have been accorded a significant role in the fight to overturn Major League Baseball's color line. This article will show that both the Worker's coverage of the issue at the time and Rodney's later accounts of his efforts misappropriated the journalistic achievements of pioneering African American sportswriter Wendell Smith and wrongfully claimed credit for his work. The largely uncritical acceptance of those accounts has resulted in an exaggerated evaluation of the Worker's and Rodney's contribution to that struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although stadium giveaways are the most common type of promotion used in Major League Baseball to increase demand, most teams supply fewer giveaway items than there are tickets sold. This study argues that giveaway availability is a major component of teams' promotion strategies and has been largely overlooked in the literature. The authors document the choice of giveaway availability across all Major League Baseball teams over an 8-year period and demonstrate that attendance increases with giveaway availability up to the point where there are enough giveaway items to serve 40% of a stadium's capacity. Roughly two thirds of teams set giveaway availability in a fashion that is consistent with the standard price discrimination rationale for promotions found in the economic and marketing literatures. The remaining teams exhibit levels of high availability, indicating an additional investment into fan lifetime value, which is corroborated by these teams' unique fan relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Major League Baseball (MLB) draft is a common route for players to enter professional baseball in the United States. Players taken in earlier rounds are typically higher-performing players. When looking at pitchers specifically, higher performance at the amateur level may be associated with an increased frequency of adaptive change in the throwing elbow. Purpose: To determine whether pitchers taken in earlier rounds of the MLB draft have a greater frequency or extent of pathological change in the elbow, as measured by dynamic stress ultrasound. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Dynamic stress ultrasounds (SUSs) were performed over 18 years on the dominant and nondominant arms of 651 professional pitchers. The 383 drafted players were grouped according to the round in which they were drafted (rounds 1-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21+). Groups were compared with respect to "relative" ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) thickness (dominant-nondominant), relative ulnohumeral joint laxity (joint space distance under stress minus joint space at rest), and the presence of pathology (calcifications, tears, hypoechoic foci, osteophytes). In addition, a subgroup analysis was done to compare the progression of SUS findings over 3 years in players for which data were available. Results: Draft round groups did not differ by age, number of previous spring training, or handedness. Comparing baseline measurements, there was no significant relationship between draft round and relative UCL thickness (P =.932), relative laxity (P =.996), or presence of pathology detectable on SUS (P =.642). However, increased relative UCL thickness was significantly associated with the presence of pathology on SUS (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.26-1.69; P <.001). Longitudinally, there was no significant relationship between draft round and 3-year progression of relative laxity, relative UCL thickness, or clinical progression of pathology. Conclusion: Higher-performing pitchers are drafted earlier in the MLB draft. This may be attributable to peak pitch velocity, in-game performance, visibility gained during player showcases, or any number of other sport-specific variables. However, despite this, there was no significant relationship between draft round and adaptive changes to the elbow or specific properties of the UCL on stress ultrasound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fantasy sport constitutes a major force in the international sport industry, attracting 62.5 million participants in North America and millions more throughout the world. Despite the significance of fantasy sport, however, much scholarly work remains to be done on its history, participants, and relationships with the sports that make it possible. To that end, this article endeavors to shed light on the development of fantasy baseball throughout the 1980s and 1990s. While I have argued elsewhere that the advent of free agency in Major League Baseball (MLB) facilitated the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball in 1980, in this article I contend that the most influential factor in the evolution of the game since that time was not primarily the increased prevalence of the internet, as most scholars maintain, but rather a series of labour conflicts in MLB during the first two full decades of the free agency era. I examine three of the most consequential of those conflicts in order to assert that they helped perpetuate a shift in fan attitudes and behaviors that began with free agency and that played a critical role in popularizing not only fantasy baseball but all of fantasy sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major League Baseball's (MLB) unwritten rules and unspoken norms communicate the continuing role that white American cultural values have within the sport. Coded into the past and present, foreign-born players, especially those from Latin America, confront these norms as they arrive to MLB with a distinctly Caribbean tíguere style of play. MLB seeks to overcome these differences by promoting its young Latino superstars through the marketing campaign Let the Kids Play. However, all actors, from The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball to current players, must increase their cultural competency and uproot their essentialist viewpoints to understand that these players are not trying to show up their opponent, but are instead adhering to the style of play they themselves learned and know best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Major League Baseball (MLB) players are at risk for metacarpal fractures; however, little is known regarding the impact of these injuries on future performance. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MLB players who sustain metacarpal fractures demonstrate decreased performance on return to competition in comparison to the performance of control-matched peers. Methods: Data for MLB position players with metacarpal fractures incurred over 17 seasons were obtained from injury reports, press releases, and player profiles. Age, position, career experience, body mass index (BMI), injury mechanism, handedness, and treatment were recorded. Individual season statistics for the 2 seasons immediately before injury and the 2 seasons after injury were obtained. Controls matched by player position, age, BMI, career experience, and performance statistics were identified. A performance comparison of the cohorts was performed. Results: Overall, 24 players met inclusion criteria. Eleven players with metacarpal fractures were treated with surgery (46%) and 13 (54%) were treated nonoperatively. Players treated nonoperatively missed significantly fewer games following injury compared with those treated operatively (35.5 vs 52.6 games, P =.04). There was no significant difference in postinjury performance when compared with preinjury performance among the fracture cohorts. Players with metacarpal fractures treated nonoperatively had a significant decline in their Wins Above Replacement (WAR) 2 seasons postinjury (1.37 point decline) in comparison to matched controls (0.84 point increase) (P =.02). There was no significant difference in WAR 1 or 2 seasons postinjury for players with metacarpal fractures treated operatively in comparison to the control cohort. Conclusions: Major League Baseball players sustaining metacarpal fractures can expect to return to their preinjury performance levels following both nonoperative and operative treatment. However, players treated nonoperatively may witness a decline in their performance compared with peers over the long term. Orthopedic surgeons treating professional athletes with metacarpal fractures should consider these outcomes when counseling their patients and making treatment recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity recognition is a problem of recognizing what activities are occurring within a video. An activity consists of the spatial movements of the object over time. Therefore, to recognize the activity included in the video, it is important to understand the object information and its change over time in the video. To recognize the temporal and the spatial structures of activity, we propose an activity recognition model based on a sequential object feature accumulation in the end-to-end manner. The sequential object feature accumulation is a method presented in this paper, which integrates the features extracted from each block of the deep neural network and refines the features for classifying the activtiy and characteristics of sub-objects constituing the activity. The proposed activity recognition model consists of two sub-units: an object feature extraction unit which identifies objects of a specific activity from an input video, and an activity feature extraction unit which identifies changes of objects movements over time. We used the Major League Baseball YouTube dataset in the sports domain to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. In experiments, the proposed model recorded the higher score than existing sports activity recognition models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) for the treatment of symptomatic cervical disc herniations (CDH) is a promising treatment for professional athletes. In recent years, a number of high-profile athletes have returned to professional play within three months after CDA, raising important questions about the potential of this procedure within this patient group. We provide the first comprehensive review of available literature for the safety and efficacy of CDA in professional contact sport athletes. Recent Findings: CDA provides theoretical biomechanical advantages over anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and posterior foraminotomy (PF), as CDA is the only operation for treatment of CDH that provides neural decompression, stability and height restoration, with preserved range of motion. While the comparative long-term results from each procedure are unknown, CDA has provided encouraging promise in its use in professional contact athletes. Summary: We aim to aid ongoing discussions regarding the controversies in spine surgery for professional athletes by providing a scientific review of the available evidence-based literature involving cervical disc arthroplasty in this population. In general, we believe that CDA is a viable alternative to ACDF and PF for the contact professional athlete who requires full neck range of motion and desires an expedited return to play. For collision athletes, the short- and long-term safety and efficacy profile of this procedure is promising but still unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major League Baseball (MLB) has been criticized for its handling of the Astros' cheating scandal. Researchers used a case study method to test whether Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) should be expanded to include collaborative brand attack (CBA) as a crisis type. Researchers used traditional and extended SCCT to analyze MLB's crisis response to determine which version fit best. Data were triangulated from sports news sources, MLB's official statement and Twitter account, and social media influencer and stakeholder posts. Researchers asked which SCCT response MLB used and whether it was effective with stakeholders. Because of poor history, MLB's accidental crisis response mismatched the level of stakeholder attribution of responsibility. Another question examined the role of social media. Major League Baseball underestimated the role of social media and SM influencers and, by underutilizing its Twitter feed, left stakeholders to attribute greater responsibility to MLB. Two final questions asked whether SCCT should be updated to include the CBA crisis type and whether it applied in this case. The results indicate the negative consequences of crisis/response mismatch and indicate that CBA should be incorporated into SCCT to address social media influence. This is the first known study to apply CBA in a sports context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundFractures are a significant cause of missed time in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB). MLB and the MLB Players Association recently instituted rule changes to limit collisions at home plate and second base.PurposeTo evaluate the epidemiologic characteristics of fractures in professional baseball and to assess the change in acute fracture incidence secondary to traumatic collisions at home plate and second base after the recently instituted rule changes.Study designDescriptive epidemiology study.MethodsThe MLB Health and Injury Tracking System (HITS) database was used to access injury information on MLB and MiLB players to analyze fracture data from 2011 to 2017. Injuries were included if the primary diagnosis was classified as a fracture in the HITS system in its International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes; injuries were excluded if they were not work related, if they occurred in the offseason, or if they were sustained by a nonplayer. The proportion of fractures occurring due to contact with the ground or another person in the relevant area of the field-home plate or second base-in the years before rule implementation was compared with the years after.ResultsA total of 1798 fractures were identified: 342 among MLB players and 1456 among MiLB players. Mean time missed per fracture was 56.6 ± 48.4 days, with significantly less time missed in MLB (46.8 ± 47.7 days) compared with MiLB (59.0 ± 48.3 days) (P < .0001). A 1-way analysis of variance with post hoc Bonferroni correction demonstrated that starting pitchers missed significantly more time due to fractures per injury than all other position groups (P < .0001). Acute fractures due to contact with the ground or with another athlete were significantly decreased after rule implementation at home plate in 2014 (22 [3.0%] vs 14 [1.3%]; P = .015) and at second base in 2016 (90 [7.0%] vs 23 [4.5%]; P = .045).ConclusionThe recently instituted rule changes to reduce collisions between players at home plate and at second base are associated with reductions in the proportion of acute fractures in those areas on the field.

Hypothesis and Background: Although on-field performance metrics are useful in measuring overall success of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction (UCLR) in professional baseball pitchers, they may not comprehensively quantify athletic performance after returning to playing in the league. To utilize fantasy baseball score (FBS) as a novel and objective outcome to assess the quality of return to play in major league baseball (MLB) pitchers who went back to professional pitching after UCLR. Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study of 216 established MLB pitchers who underwent UCLR while in the MLB between the years 1974 and 2018. Pitchers who either started in at least 45 games or pitched 90 relief games in the 3 years leading up to injury were included. FBS was calculated using 3 different scoring methods: ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) (FBS-ESPN), Yahoo (FBS-Yahoo), and CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) (FBS-CBS). Return to play, games played, innings pitched, earned runs, strikeouts, walks, hits allowed, hit batsman, and quality starts were also collected. Performance records were compiled for 3 years prior to and after the return to MLB. Players' pre-injury performance was used as a historic control group. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to detect trends between seasons, controlling for year of surgery, and number of games. Results: The mean age of the cohort at the time of surgery was 30.0 ± 3.5 years. One hundred seventy-nine of 216 players (83%) returned to MLB play, taking an average of 16.6 ± 5.8 months. One hundred thirty-six of 179 (76%) remained in the league for 3 seasons. After adjusting for year of surgery, pitchers earned significantly fewer points for FBS-CBS (616.45 ± 332.42 vs. 389.12 ± 341.06; P

The analysis of outcome uncertainty (OU) and competitive balance (CB) has been of overwhelming importance in sports economics. Surprisingly, there is little work on the impact of the structure of play on either OU or CB. Balanced and unbalanced schedules, and division play have been used to analyze biasedness of CB measures. And the impact of the introduction of unbalanced schedules on OU has been analyzed. But the impact of the introduction of both unbalanced schedules and division play on OU has not been analyzed. In this paper, we assess the impacts on OU, for given choices of CB (OU/CB) of moving to division play. This includes the impact of schedule imbalance, division strength, the number of teams, and the number of divisions. We also obtain estimates of their marginal impacts on OU/CB via numerical analysis and regression. The results are compared to OU/CB from unbiased estimators, for the case of the introduction of division play in Major League Baseball. The results suggest that the approach is useful and there are policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major League Baseball (MLB) is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to its season duration, geographic footprint, and largely outdoor nature. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to investigate whether U.S.-based MLB fans' climate change skepticism and experiential processing influenced their climate change risk perceptions and adaptation willingness, and to determine if those relationships were further influenced by fans' sport identification with MLB. A cross-sectional survey design tested the study's purposes using a sample (n = 540) of self-identified MLB fans. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling on the Mplus 8 statistical package to test the hypothesized model. The results indicated consistencies across low and highly identified MLB fans on their climate change risk perceptions and willingness to adapt, but revealed group differences between the factors influencing fans' risk perceptions of climate change. The findings provide early empirical evidence to support the United Nations' (UN) Sport for Climate Action Framework, and managerial implications regarding the nexus of climate change and sport consumer behavior research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research has documented the proportion of "tall and fall" (TF) and "drop and drive" (DD) pitching styles among Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers who underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR). The proportion of these 2 styles among all MLB pitchers remains unknown. Purpose: To determine the proportion of the TF and DD pitching styles in all rostered MLB pitchers during a single season as well as the proportion of TF and DD pitchers who sustained an upper extremity (UE) injury and those who underwent UCLR. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Pitcher demographic characteristics from the 2019 MLB season and pitching information were obtained via open-access sources. Two-dimensional video analysis was used to categorize the included pitchers into TF and DD groups. Statistical comparisons and contrasts were made using 2-tailed t tests, chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation analyses as appropriate. Results: Of the 660 MLB rostered pitchers in 2019 (age, 27.39 ± 3.51 years; body mass index, 26.34 ± 2.47 kg/m2; fastball velocity, 150.49 ± 3.99 kph [93.51 ± 2.48 mph]), 412 (62.4%) pitchers used the TF style and 248 (37.6%) pitchers used the DD style. Significantly more UE injuries were seen in the TF group compared with the DD group (112 vs 38 injuries, respectively; P <.001). Twelve pitchers underwent UCLR (TF, 10; DD, 2), representing a 1.8% UCLR rate among all pitchers. This was a second surgery for 2 pitchers, both of whom used the TF pitching style. Significantly more pitchers in the TF group than the DD group had undergone UCLR before 2019 (135 vs 56 pitchers, respectively; P =.005). Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated a higher prevalence of both UE injury and prior UCLR in TF pitchers. Further research is needed to explore the potential association between pitching style and UE injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pitch counts are tightly monitored in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hidden pitches—including warm-up pitches before and between innings and pitches before the starting/relieving pitcher's appearance in a game—are not as closely monitored. Purpose/Hypothesis: To report the number of hidden pitches thrown per game and over the course of a season for a single organization. We hypothesized that players who threw more hidden pitches would be at an increased risk of injury compared with those who threw fewer hidden pitches. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: All pitchers who played for a single MLB organization in the 2021 season were included. Hidden pitches, in-game pitches, and total pitches thrown during all games in the season were recorded. Injuries to these pitchers were also recorded. Players were defined as having an injury if they spent any time on the injured list. Results: Overall, 137 pitchers were included, 66 (48%) of whom sustained an injury and were placed on the IL during the 2021 season (mean time on IL, 53.6 ± 45.6 days). Of the 66 players who sustained an injury, 18 (27.3%) sustained an elbow injury, while 12 (18.2%) sustained a shoulder injury. Only 1 player sustained an ulnar collateral ligament tear. When comparing hidden pitches, in-game pitches, and total pitches between pitchers who sustained an injury and those who did not, there were no significant differences between groups (P =.150; P =.830; and P =.377, respectively). On average, hidden pitches made up 45.4% of the total number of pitches thrown during the course of the season. When evaluating the number of hidden pitches as a percentage of the total number of pitches thrown in a season, there was no significant difference between pitchers who sustained an injury and those who did not (P =.654). Conclusion: MLB pitchers who sustained an injury did not throw more hidden pitches than those who did not sustain an injury. Larger scale studies are needed to confirm the results of this single-team study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Superior labrum anterior-posterior tears (SLAP) can be a career-altering injury for Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers. Surgery and postoperative rehabilitation keep pitchers on the injured list (IL) for extended time, which results in a significant cost to a team. To date, no analyses have focused on the financial cost of SLAP repairs in MLB pitchers. Methods: A retrospective review of MLB pitchers with SLAP repair from 2004 to 2019 was conducted utilizing IL and financial contract data from the MLB website. Cost of injury was calculated from salary of the player. Performance metrics including earned run average, walks + hits per innings pitched, and innings pitched (IP) were averaged for one and all seasons played before and after injury. Return to play and return to prior performance rates were calculated and reported. Results: Of the 55 players identified, 22 players (40%) returned to play and 18 of these 22 players (82%) returned to prior performance. Annual cost increased over the study period (R2 = 0.288) averaging $3.5 million, and a stable average of 172 days was spent on the IL (R2 = 0.001). Performance was negligible except IP (106.95 vs. 50.85; P

This is a fictional case based on the acquisition and use of talent within Major League Baseball club the New York Mets using "sabermetrics." The case introduces students to three disparate approaches to acquiring and utilizing talent with the strategic aim to maximize the Mets' "championship window." The case primarily uses examples from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Tampa Bay Rays to compare successful and unsuccessful strategies. With the data and strategies presented, this case presents a scenario for Jalen Burkes, the fictitious assistant to the General Manager for the Mets during the Major League Baseball offseason. This case develops within the theoretical framework of workforce differentiation theory and is suitable for student learning about strategic decision making and human resource management. Specifically, students are challenged to consider whether to keep free agents on the roster based on how talent is acquired and used to put the Mets in the best possible position to compete for a championship in the next season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Dominican Republic (DR) players have different training norms, which can affect their resiliency and performance. The variance among DR players’ training regimens may be influenced by the degree of training incorporating fundamental movement patterns. Objective: To examine differences in fundamental movement patterns in United States (US)–born versus DR-born professional baseball players. Design: Cross-sectional cohort. Setting: Professional baseball athletic training room. Participants: One hundred forty-two players (76 DR-born and 66 US-born) who were recently selected by a Major League Baseball team. Intervention: Subjects completed the Functional Movement Screen using the standardized 7 movement tests and the 3 isolated clearing tests. Main Outcome Measures: The primary variables studied were composite score, left and right asymmetry, and individual movement standard scores. Two-way chi-squared analysis was utilized for the statistical analysis with statistical significance being identified at P <.05. Results: DR players had a larger number of 1s (7.8% vs 3.0%) and 3s (10.5% vs 1.5%) on the right-sided hurdle step and a greater percentage of 3s (82.8% vs 60.6%) on right-sided shoulder mobility. US players had a larger percentage of 3s (33.3% vs 13.4%) and a lower percentage of 1s (2.2% vs 15.1%) on the active straight leg raise and a greater percentage of passable scores (≥2; 99.5% vs 65.8%) on the trunk stability push-up. Conclusion: This study suggests that fundamental movement competency differs between US- and DR-born professional baseball players. Based on these movement competency differences, a player’s country of origin may be taken into account to create an effective training program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseball is a sport that involves a large number of statistics, which are often displayed during broadcast events to show the players' performance levels. With the advent of big data, the amount and types of data used in broadcasts have increased yearly. However, the use of complex information challenges the audience's ability to process it. This study considered data types used during broadcasts as the basis for an in-depth exploration of audiences' experience resulting from the application of visualization. The study also examined the relationship between the contents of broadcast information and audiences' sports participation, entertainment experience, and cognitive load. Baseball fans with varying levels of experience with handling different types of information were surveyed to understand the variations in their entertainment experiences and cognitive load levels when they watched a baseball game. The results indicated that fans with low participation levels had insufficient viewing experience, such that the use of visualized statistical information did not facilitate their understanding of the game, nor did they gain more pleasure or meaning from the game through the visualized information. Fans with high participation levels already possessed a wealth of baseball knowledge and experience, so providing visualized information did not significantly elevate their viewing experiences either. Moreover, the visualized information caused them to experience varying amounts of additional cognitive load. These results provide a reference that can be used to design sports broadcasts tailored to different information types and fan characteristics, thus improving fans' viewing experience of sports broadcasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]