There's no easy way to say goodbye, but there's always a time when we have to do it. Life turns like a season, and as the leaves change, so do the circumstances of our life. Eight years is a long time to do any one thing at any one place. I think in some small way, I've been able to perform the core mission I hoped to when I started writing about sports medicine: to educate the public about the overlooked importance of health, safety, and the hard work of medical staffs in winning baseball.

Looking back at the things I've done here, there's one where I really wish things had gone different. Brad Wochomurka got the chance to interview Buck O'Neil one day. He was at the studio in Indianapolis and there was a time window where O'Neil was available. I couldn't make it into the studio in time, so Brad did it alone. Joe Posnanski's book The Soul of Baseball is one of my favorite books, baseball or not, and the lessons of O'Neil are just stunning in any context. O'Neil's passion in Ken Burns' Baseball is one of those enduring images. O'Neil should be in the Hall of Fame. In fact, I think we should have a place for people like O'Neil, who spent their lives furthering the game, building the spirit, and showing just what baseball can do. I'd love it if it were the Buck O'Neil Ambassador Award, or something, where others who have given their very souls could be rewarded, where for one afternoon they could hear the roar of a Cooperstown crowd and see their life immortalized on a plaque. I only wish Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame had seen fit to do so for O'Neil, but I think he understood.

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One of the hardest things I have to do is explaining what I do. I tried to get the word "medhead" to stick, but it never did. I'm a writer focused on telling the story of sports through the lens of sports medicine. Since few others try to do this, it's a hard concept to grasp for some, despite injuries being one of the greatest factors for winning and losing, second only to talent. I'm not a stathead. Never have been, never will be. When I first came to work at Baseball Prospectus, I was told by one of the original writers that I wouldn't fit in and he was right. While I've attempted to use some statistical tools to help bring the medhead side up to speed, it's always been with assistance. In the media, I often get asked to explain what PECOTA or VORP is and I can articulate it well enough, but the fact is, I'm the guy who can't balance his checkbook and only passed Algebra II because I played baseball. When writing about injuries, I don't have box scores to work from. I don't have the whole of Baseball-Reference or Retrosheet to check against. The outright arrogance of some statheads and the inability to market any of the tools they've developed have held things back. I'm sure the same could be said of me and the medhead side of things. I'm not shy, I say plenty of stupid things, and that's led to some focusing on the persona rather than the work. If there's one thing I could change in the last nine years, it's that.

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UTK Flashback

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Jason LaRue (concussion, 10/4)

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UTK Flashback

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UTK Flashback

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UTK Flashback: More Injuries?

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Aaron Cook (fractured fibula, ERD 10/4)
A broken leg might not be season-ending? That's pretty aggressive. After seeing Cook crushed in the shin by a Joey Votto comebacker (preventable, by the way), there was little doubt that we'd seen the last of the right-hander this season. However, Jim Tracy was holding out some hope. Cook was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the fibula on his push leg. If you listen closely, you'll hear the crack of Cook's bone on this MLB video. Cook didn't have his leg planted, but the liner was probably moving at Aroldis Chapman speeds. There's very little real chance that Cook returns this season unless the Rockies go deep into the playoffs. The fact that it was the fibula helps, but I get the sense that Tracy was trying to be positive more than he was trying to be factual. Late word is that Jeff Francis will come off the DL to replace Cook.

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UTK Flashback

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 UTK Flashback

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UTK Flashback

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