The following is a conversation between Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez that I transcribed from Sunday’s Mets vs Pirates broadcast.
The two of them spent about 15 minutes discussing why Mets players suffer so many injuries to their muscles, joints and ligaments.
Gary: For all that this Mets organization has done to minimize injuries, including the offseason strength and conditioning programs they’ve insituted with Mike Barwis the last two years, this organization seems incredibly beset with injuries year after year after year.
Gary: Is it just bad luck? Or is it something that requires some further introspection on the part of this organization?
Keith: I don’t believe in bad luck. Maybe there has to be a reevaluation of their conditioning programs. I personally think that the players work out too much. It’s a long year, there’s much more travel now, much more weariness – especially leg weariness – which is probably why Lucas Duda is out.
Keith: I’d like to see the guys basically not being baseball gym rats. It’s crazy, they come to the ballpark and mostly live in that bunker down there.
Gary: I think it’s important that you differentiate between the traumatic injuries and the freak injuries which are always going to happen during the course of the season.
Gary: It’s the other things like the pulled quads and the pulled hamstrings like Duda yesterday, Wright earlier in the season… The back problems… Are those things that can be avoided? Is there a way to figure out how to minimize those things? I know the Mets have been very diligent in trying to figure out how to do that but is there something that’s missing?
Keith: I’m no expert… There has been a lot of advancements in conditioning throughout sports. But I do think this sport is particularly different in that it’s a marathon and you play 162 games in 182 days in the dead of summer.
Keith: You’ve got to be stronger in August and September. From my own personal experience, I started lifting during the latter part of my career. I was always reluctant to do anything involving weights with my legs. I was always afraid that my legs would get too strong and that they would tighten up. Instead I would stretch my legs all the time to keep them loose.
Keith: Now I know that these players are also stretching too, but I’m wondering if all this focus on building their leg muscles is creating too much tension? I imagine those muscles and ligaments are as tight as piano wires. I’m talking about your hamstrings, your quads, etc. In my day we ran to make our legs strong, and we played to keep our legs strong.
Gary: And the other piece to that is: are the Mets doing these things and pushing their players too hard? I wonder if that’s what other teams are doing too? I don’t hear about other teams working their players the way the Mets do.
Anyway, the conversation went on and on with each wondering why the Mets have so many more injuries than the average team over the last several seasons.
Both agreed that the Mets need to reevaluate their entire training staff, procedures, and conditioning programs.
Hernandez also advocated for the 154 game scheduled proposed by new commissioner Rob Manfred as it would minimize injuries caused by fatigue.
They question whether Mets players specifically are doing too much lifting, if the offseason workouts are contributing to the stress on their muscles and ligaments, and if their bodies are getting enough time to recuperate after a long season.
The Mets have lost the third most days to the DL so far this season.
