2017LHPscrewball posted:Kyle Boddy posted:Since I work with a lot of pro ballplayers, I assure you, the vast majority are taking plenty of pills and doing a lot of things to manage pain throughout the season - position players and pitchers alike. Many pitch with a partial tear of their UCL.
A big misconception is that you tear your UCL and the team pays for an MRI and you get Tommy John within a week. Not so much. The team force feeds you drugs, gets a useless X-Ray, does manual tests that declare "soreness," put you on the shadow DL, jerk you around in rehab, and do everything they can to not MRI your arm and pay for surgery. That's how it really goes down in most minor league organizations. And that can take months.
What you see in the big leagues is not how it goes down for the rest of pro ball. Remember that.
What are the MiLB player's options when they feel that a 2nd opinion or additional testing (i.e. MRI versus just the x-ray) is warranted? Can they pay out of pocket for the MRI and have it read - with findings submitted to the organization? Or, once you set foot outside of "their" network you are on you own?
I would really prefer some substance in discussion, again you lost me at scientist discovered the earth was flat.