New York Yankees injury recap
Professional sports can be dangerous and cause strain to the body, and New York Yankee players are no exception.
Now that the MLB regular season has been going on for some time, it seems time to look over some of the injuries that the New York Yankee’s athletes have faced thus far in 2022.
In Sept. 2021, Yankees reliever Zack Britton underwent Tommy John surgery, also known as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, according to a March 2022 FanNation Article. The UCL is a body tissue that connects bone to bone, specifically the radius and the ulna. The purpose of this surgery is to repair the UCL and is done through the use of harvesting a ligament from another part of the individual's body. The new ligament replaces the torn one and acts as the ulnar collateral ligament. As of March 14, Britton was “limited to flat ground, but he hopes to get back on a mound soon.” Britton hopes to return to the field before the end of the 2022 season, according to ESPN injury information.
In March 2022, Yankees catcher Ben Rortvedt was sidelined for a grade one oblique strain. The obliques are the set of muscles that extend from the pelvis up to the ribs. According to a March 19 article from the New York Post, Rortvedt did not play in any spring training games, but according to an April 10 NJ.com article, Rortvedt may be ready to start minor league rehab games.
In April 2022, Joey Gallo left Saturday night’s game in Kansas City with left groin tightness. During the fourth inning, in an attempt to break for second base, Gallo felt it tighten. The next morning, Gallo tested out the tightness and ran, explaining that he felt “good” and described the feeling as “tender” after Sunday's game, according to a May 1 article from The Morning Call.
In the world of professional sports, injuries are not an uncommon occurrence. In 2018 and 2020, the rate of injuries in the MLB per season were 7.35 and 7.58 respectively, according to an April 2021 article from Fangraphs. Like Britton’s injury, the most common MLB injury is damage or a tear to the ulnar collateral ligament since it is commonly caused by pitchers throwing too much, according to StopSportsInjuries.com.
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