Byron Buxton's Body Has Betrayed Him Yet Again. It Sucks And It's No One's Fault.

[Finfineman]

1/3 of his injuries are bad luck

1/3 of his injuries are dumb choices

1/3 of his injuries are from a skinny, injury prone body

[luckylager]

41 minutes ago, Finfineman said:

1/3 of his injuries are bad luck

1/3 of his injuries are dumb choices

1/3 of his injuries are from a skinny, injury prone body

A "skinny, injury prone body"?! The man is obviously in top physical condition.  And as for "dumb" choices, the man plays his ass off. 

[prouster]

15 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

It came up because it seemed odd as a sarcastic dig at a post that agrees with you.  I think the problem came when you bristled at a completely innocuous post, not with your overall point.  You found (or implied at the very least) disagreement where there really was none.  I think we all share lament that the young man can't play and there isn't much he can do about it.

 

Nope. I disagreed with the original post, because I don’t think durability is a skill or ability. I think it’s probably more like a physiological trait, similar to being tall. Guys can do some things on the margins to play up that trait, but ultimately I don’t think anyone has agency over their tendency to get injured. Calling it an ability doesn’t simply suggest otherwise—it states it outright. 
 

But, whatever. I’ve said what I want to say as clearly as I can. I’ll concede. You win the internet debate. 

[Dodecahedron]

Durability can be addressed, for most people.  Having more muscle mass can protect the body from injuries.   However, I suspect if Buxton's body allowed him to build up muscle easily, he would have done so.  This is the main reason I suspect he has a connective tissue disease.  People who have these diseases have great trouble building muscle mass.  I'm not saying Buxton isn't strong -- he is -- I'm saying he probably puts in a ton of work just to get to where he is now.

We can assume Buxton puts as much into keeping his body in tune as he puts into his play on the field, yet he is still very skinny.  This would have been understandable as a rookie, but he has now been around for a long time.

On another note ... for a bit of fun, take a look at how skinny Gardenhire was when he was playing.  

[TheLeviathan]

37 minutes ago, prouster said:

Nope. I disagreed with the original post, because I don’t think durability is a skill or ability. I think it’s probably more like a physiological trait, similar to being tall. Guys can do some things on the margins to play up that trait, but ultimately I don’t think anyone has agency over their tendency to get injured. Calling it an ability doesn’t simply suggest otherwise—it states it outright. 
 

But, whatever. I’ve said what I want to say as clearly as I can. I’ll concede. You win the internet debate. 

You are literally agreeing with the original post but continuing to claim you disagree with it.  It's nonsensical. At best you devolved to pure semantics about the words ability and trait which is fallacious and unfair.

[jharaldson]

I will disagree with the fact that this injury is not Buxton's fault.  Below I have 2 screenshots from the pitch that hit him.  The first shows him with his hands protected behind his triceps and the second is from a fraction of a second later when he had brought his hands in to start a swinging motion.  He obviously massively misjudged this ball and instead of protecting his hands during a non-swing he had to instead try to protect them mid-swing which is why they were out there in plain sight.  Better pitch identification and him reacting by turning his left shoulder in instead of bringing his hands into the zone would have prevented this injury.  

[Nine of twelve]

3 hours ago, jharaldson said:

I will disagree with the fact that this injury is not Buxton's fault.  Below I have 2 screenshots from the pitch that hit him.  The first shows him with his hands protected behind his triceps and the second is from a fraction of a second later when he had brought his hands in to start a swinging motion.  He obviously massively misjudged this ball and instead of protecting his hands during a non-swing he had to instead try to protect them mid-swing which is why they were out there in plain sight.  Better pitch identification and him reacting by turning his left shoulder in instead of bringing his hands into the zone would have prevented this injury.  

A batter has less than 1.5 seconds to recognize what the pitch is (which is not always possible), to recognize where it's going, and to react accordingly. The argument that Buxton did not plan his reaction properly is borderline ridiculous, IMHO. I suppose you also think that it was Ray Chapman's fault that he allowed himself to be killed by Carl Mays.

[Otto von Ballpark]

34 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

A batter has less than 1.5 seconds to recognize what the pitch is (which is not always possible), to recognize where it's going, and to react accordingly. The argument that Buxton did not plan his reaction properly is borderline ridiculous, IMHO. I suppose you also think that it was Ray Chapman's fault that he allowed himself to be killed by Carl Mays.

I don’t think he said it is easy. But compared to his peers, Buxton’s aggressiveness at the plate (and in the field) might be making him more vulnerable to these kinds of injuries.

Of course, Buxton’s aggressiveness also helps him be a better hitter and defender than his peers, so it really is a difficult situation!

[jharaldson]

On 6/25/2021 at 7:35 PM, Nine of twelve said:

A batter has less than 1.5 seconds to recognize what the pitch is (which is not always possible), to recognize where it's going, and to react accordingly. The argument that Buxton did not plan his reaction properly is borderline ridiculous, IMHO. I suppose you also think that it was Ray Chapman's fault that he allowed himself to be killed by Carl Mays.

From what I can see in the link below it is actually less than 1.5 seconds.  

Washington Post Baseball Swing Study

Quote

Information about the pitch — its speed, trajectory and location — takes about 100 milliseconds, or a tenth of a second, to go from eye to brain. It takes another 150 milliseconds for the batter to start a swing and get the bat over the plate.

This leaves 150 to 250 milli­seconds — a quarter of a second at most — for the hitter to decide whether to complete the swing and, if he opts to do so, where to place the bat.

I'm not saying that this is easy, it is incredibly hard.  But being able to identify a pitch is part of what distinguishes a professional from a minor leaguer and is a defined and recognized skill in major league baseball.

In regards to Chapman, from what I can read his injury was caused as a result of the ball being excessively darkened by spit, dirt, and other substances plus the fact the game had extended into the late afternoon with no artificial lights.  Not being able to react because you can't see the ball vs. not reacting well to a ball that is fully visible and is well-lit are two entirely different things.

[Nine of twelve]

On 6/28/2021 at 12:23 PM, jharaldson said:

 

In regards to Chapman, from what I can read his injury was caused as a result of the ball being excessively darkened by spit, dirt, and other substances plus the fact the game had extended into the late afternoon with no artificial lights.  Not being able to react because you can't see the ball vs. not reacting well to a ball that is fully visible and is well-lit are two entirely different things.

Then he should have taken that into account and bailed out at the very earliest sign the pitch was not going to be a strike. It was all his fault and he deserved to die. Of course, I am speaking sarcastically. I'm simply not in agreement with the blame-the-victim viewpoint presented in the earlier post.