The Role of the Hand Surgery Consultant in the Care of the Baseball Athlete.

Abstract

The approach to the care of baseball athletes and organizations is influenced by 2 factors that distinguish it from other sports: the number of contests and the number of players. America's pastime is a marathon that can (if successful in the regular season and postseason play) stretch over a 10-months, 162+-game schedule. In addition, unlike other major North American sports, baseball's "feeder system" is the highly-structured Minor League Baseball. This is in contradistinction to caring for 15 basketball players who arrive at the professional level through collegiate (or even high school) play or 20 hockey players that may have had an NCAA experience or come through the Junior Leagues in Canada. Even though a 53-man football roster can keep a Hand Surgery Consultant busy, it is still a limited professional level cohort that is one-third to one-fourth of the size of baseball's and is played across less than 20 contests. Granted, every sport has its own culture-which is why we have developed this format for this publication-but planning for the scope of baseball care is also influenced by the unique pace and intensity of the interactions, that is why it is called a "clubhouse," rather than a "locker room". With these fundamentals shared, let us expand on what our experience has taught us about the care for athletes that are engaged in batting, throwing, receiving, and colliding on the diamond.