Managing Injury-Prone Players

awick · 08-19-2013, 04:45 PM

In the past I generally managed injury-prone players by just making sure they didn't play unless they were fully rested. Last season I decided to manage the player (Cook) in the attached image a bit differently. I let my 4th and 5th outfielders start about 40% of the time (a little less often against lefties). Cook played the whole season injury free -- which was a first for him. On top of that he had a pretty strong season.

Cook started 105 games and got into 41 more off the bench. He was my best hitter in the post season (lost the WS in 7 games, damnit).

So, was I just lucky with him? Or do injury-prone players benefit from additional rest, in the sense that it actually reduces the likelihood of injury?

I have another outfielder who has a good injury history and whom I played most every day. He got hurt during the last week of the season and missed the post season altogether. Was I just unlucky, or did I increase the odds of his being injured by using him too much?

The OOTP documentation dosen't indicate this, but the longer I play the more I have come to feel that extra rest makes players less likely to get hurt. My experiences are only anecdotal, just a feeling that is growning in me. What have others seen in this regard?

slugga27 · 08-19-2013, 05:49 PM

I'll say luck, based on sample size. I mean...he could very well have been injured on Opening Day.

CobaltJays · 08-19-2013, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awick

So, was I just lucky with him? Or do injury-prone players benefit from additional rest, in the sense that it actually reduces the likelihood of injury?

I have another outfielder who has a good injury history and whom I played most every day. He got hurt during the last week of the season and missed the post season altogether. Was I just unlucky, or did I increase the odds of his being injured by using him too much?

In my experience it's pretty random. I've had a few injury-prone guys get injured within a couple games of their return from the disabled list. I've also had some guys with good injury histories to have an injury-plagued season on occasion.

The current ace of my pitching staff has an injury history of Wrecked as he suffered a number of injuries while in the minors with another organization. He's managed to give me at least 30 starts in each of the last six seasons, and is on pace for a seventh right now. Over that span he's suffered three injuries, but he's never been out for more than two weeks. He's easily one of the most durable pitchers I've had, despite the fact that I haven't done anything special with him.

CobaltJays · 08-19-2013, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CobaltJays

The current ace of my pitching staff has an injury history of Wrecked as he suffered a number of injuries while in the minors with another organization. He's managed to give me at least 30 starts in each of the last six seasons, and is on pace for a seventh right now. Over that span he's suffered three injuries, but he's never been out for more than two weeks. He's easily one of the most durable pitchers I've had, despite the fact that I haven't done anything special with him.

...and he suffered a three-week injury right after I posted the above. I'm in the middle of a season from hell injury-wise.

pumph · 08-20-2013, 12:42 AM

I'd say it's luck

Check this guy out. He's "normal" for injury, and up until this season, he had been in the majors since age 20, and only had one injury in his career. (Played on OOTP 6.5 until the 2033 season)

Yes - that's 6 injuries in one season.

RonP · 08-20-2013, 07:47 AM

I've never had Mantle get in a full season. And that is the proverbial drag.

Nunyer · 08-20-2013, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CobaltJays

In my experience it's pretty random. I've had a few injury-prone guys get injured within a couple games of their return from the disabled list. I've also had some guys with good injury histories to have an injury-plagued season on occasion.

The current ace of my pitching staff has an injury history of Wrecked as he suffered a number of injuries while in the minors with another organization. He's managed to give me at least 30 starts in each of the last six seasons, and is on pace for a seventh right now. Over that span he's suffered three injuries, but he's never been out for more than two weeks. He's easily one of the most durable pitchers I've had, despite the fact that I haven't done anything special with him.

I agree about the randomness, especially for pitchers. One of the top closers in my current fictional league is also 'wrecked' but hasn't had a DL stint in 8+ seasons and his last day-to-day injury was 6+ seasons ago. Granted, closers don't pitch a ton... but that's still roughly 600 appearances and well over 800 innings with only a single 4 day hiccup. I flirted with him during FA in the last off season, but a bidding war erupted and he ended up getting over $60m for three years.

Whether it's pitcher or position player, I've never managed anybody differently based on their injury history. That only comes into play when wearing the GM hat... Generally speaking, no big contracts to fragile/wrecked and those guys are the first 'sweeteners' I try to throw into any trades.

r0nster · 08-20-2013, 08:12 AM

try to get a better trainer ???? how good is your trainer ?? should help cut down a little bit on the injuries. Wont stop it from happening but does cut down on length of time they are out and perhaps frequency.

awick · 08-20-2013, 12:33 PM

Just took a closer look at my guy Cook. Over the 5 previous seasons, he missed 47 weeks during the season. That came from 3+ injuries per season, on average, and about 2.5 trips to the DL per year. (Excluding day-to-day injuries, of which there have been several.) Then last season I went out of my way to not start him almost 60 times and he suffered no injuries, for the first time in his career. That just doesn't feel like luck, though I know it well could be.

Of course, the effect is almost the same, whether he sits 60 games resting or with an injury.

Note though that when he didn't start he managed to come off the bench about 40 times. He couldn't do that if injured.

awick · 08-20-2013, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r0nster

try to get a better trainer ???? how good is your trainer ?? should help cut down a little bit on the injuries. Wont stop it from happening but does cut down on length of time they are out and perhaps frequency.

I have a pretty good trainer and I do see the positive effects from that. But as you said, that doesn't prevent the injuries.

RchW · 08-20-2013, 12:55 PM

I manage them by getting rid of them. When drafting and signing players I put a lot of emphasis on durability. Put another way I'll sign the durable/normal guy if equal or nearly equal.

The Wolf · 08-20-2013, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RchW

I manage them by getting rid of them. When drafting and signing players I put a lot of emphasis on durability. Put another way I'll sign the durable/normal guy if equal or nearly equal.

^ This

Toado · 08-20-2013, 05:26 PM

I'm at the point where even "normal" terrifies me... especially if it's a player I'm building around. I can't risk signing someone to a big contract only to see them miss a month here or there as a small market team.

I'm TOTALLY jinxing myself, but I've had four of the same starting pitchers the last three seasons (all durable - one got bumped up to iron man) and none of them have missed a single start. Saves quite a bit of money since I never have to call up replacements from the minors.

I do feel like fragile / wrecked starting pitchers are much more likely to make it through multiple season injury free than position players. Guess it makes sense considering they have far fewer on-field opportunities to get hurt.

RchW · 08-20-2013, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toado

I'm at the point where even "normal" terrifies me... especially if it's a player I'm building around. I can't risk signing someone to a big contract only to see them miss a month here or there as a small market team.

I'm TOTALLY jinxing myself, but I've had four of the same starting pitchers the last three seasons (all durable - one got bumped up to iron man) and none of them have missed a single start. Saves quite a bit of money since I never have to call up replacements from the minors.

I do feel like fragile / wrecked starting pitchers are much more likely to make it through multiple season injury free than position players. Guess it makes sense considering they have far fewer on-field opportunities to get hurt.

Not sure you should be that paranoid. The vast majority of players are normal so you just have to live with it.

r0nster · 08-22-2013, 04:30 PM

I see the point of being concerned over normal players getting injured and I have had a player that had status of Iron man and still went down for 6 months and never the same again.

However it makes for more fun and gets us more involved in the game and get grey hair at same time. The big question is how we MGRs handle a given situation to keep the ship (team) steady.

Rizon · 08-23-2013, 11:55 AM

Been kind of random to me; I've had wrecked/fragile players play without injuries and Normal guys get Markpriored.

I try to avoid them.

I do have some fragile pitchers on my roster, and I try to limit their pitch counts.

Cowboys3356 · 08-26-2013, 03:27 PM

If you play anyone less then they have less change of getting injured. I think managing his games is a good strategy and while he could be injured at any time, your odds are better he won't get hurt if you only play him in 140 games than if you try to play him in 162 games. Either way he could get hurt in game 1 but overall the odds of him staying healthy are slightly more in your favor.

08-19-2013, 04:45 PM	#1
awick Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Lansing, NY Posts: 313	Managing Injury-Prone Players In the past I generally managed injury-prone players by just making sure they didn't play unless they were fully rested. Last season I decided to manage the player (Cook) in the attached image a bit differently. I let my 4th and 5th outfielders start about 40% of the time (a little less often against lefties). Cook played the whole season injury free -- which was a first for him. On top of that he had a pretty strong season. Cook started 105 games and got into 41 more off the bench. He was my best hitter in the post season (lost the WS in 7 games, damnit). So, was I just lucky with him? Or do injury-prone players benefit from additional rest, in the sense that it actually reduces the likelihood of injury? I have another outfielder who has a good injury history and whom I played most every day. He got hurt during the last week of the season and missed the post season altogether. Was I just unlucky, or did I increase the odds of his being injured by using him too much? The OOTP documentation dosen't indicate this, but the longer I play the more I have come to feel that extra rest makes players less likely to get hurt. My experiences are only anecdotal, just a feeling that is growning in me. What have others seen in this regard? Attached Images

08-20-2013, 12:42 AM	#5
pumph Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 91	I'd say it's luck Check this guy out. He's "normal" for injury, and up until this season, he had been in the majors since age 20, and only had one injury in his career. (Played on OOTP 6.5 until the 2033 season) Yes - that's 6 injuries in one season. Last edited by pumph; 08-20-2013 at 12:44 AM.

08-20-2013, 12:55 PM	#11
RchW Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: The big smoke Posts: 15,628	I manage them by getting rid of them. When drafting and signing players I put a lot of emphasis on durability. Put another way I'll sign the durable/normal guy if equal or nearly equal. __________________ Cheers RichW If you’re looking for a good cause to donate money to please consider a Donation to Parkinson’s Canada. It may help me have a better future and if not me, someone else. Thanks. “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” Frank Wilhoit

08-23-2013, 11:55 AM	#16
Rizon Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: SF Area, California Total Posts: 531,691 Posts: 2,363	Been kind of random to me; I've had wrecked/fragile players play without injuries and Normal guys get Markpriored. I try to avoid them. I do have some fragile pitchers on my roster, and I try to limit their pitch counts. __________________ JML MILKSHAKES Last edited by Rizon; 08-23-2013 at 11:56 AM.

08-19-2013, 05:49 PM	#2
slugga27 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,250	I'll say luck, based on sample size. I mean...he could very well have been injured on Opening Day.

08-20-2013, 07:47 AM	#6
RonP Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 226	I've never had Mantle get in a full season. And that is the proverbial drag.

08-20-2013, 08:12 AM	#8
r0nster Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	try to get a better trainer ???? how good is your trainer ?? should help cut down a little bit on the injuries. Wont stop it from happening but does cut down on length of time they are out and perhaps frequency.

08-20-2013, 12:33 PM	#9
awick Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Lansing, NY Posts: 313	Just took a closer look at my guy Cook. Over the 5 previous seasons, he missed 47 weeks during the season. That came from 3+ injuries per season, on average, and about 2.5 trips to the DL per year. (Excluding day-to-day injuries, of which there have been several.) Then last season I went out of my way to not start him almost 60 times and he suffered no injuries, for the first time in his career. That just doesn't feel like luck, though I know it well could be. Of course, the effect is almost the same, whether he sits 60 games resting or with an injury. Note though that when he didn't start he managed to come off the bench about 40 times. He couldn't do that if injured.

08-20-2013, 05:26 PM	#13
Toado Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 107	I'm at the point where even "normal" terrifies me... especially if it's a player I'm building around. I can't risk signing someone to a big contract only to see them miss a month here or there as a small market team. I'm TOTALLY jinxing myself, but I've had four of the same starting pitchers the last three seasons (all durable - one got bumped up to iron man) and none of them have missed a single start. Saves quite a bit of money since I never have to call up replacements from the minors. I do feel like fragile / wrecked starting pitchers are much more likely to make it through multiple season injury free than position players. Guess it makes sense considering they have far fewer on-field opportunities to get hurt.

08-22-2013, 04:30 PM	#15
r0nster Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	I see the point of being concerned over normal players getting injured and I have had a player that had status of Iron man and still went down for 6 months and never the same again. However it makes for more fun and gets us more involved in the game and get grey hair at same time. The big question is how we MGRs handle a given situation to keep the ship (team) steady.

08-26-2013, 03:27 PM	#17
Cowboys3356 All Star Starter Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,572	If you play anyone less then they have less change of getting injured. I think managing his games is a good strategy and while he could be injured at any time, your odds are better he won't get hurt if you only play him in 140 games than if you try to play him in 162 games. Either way he could get hurt in game 1 but overall the odds of him staying healthy are slightly more in your favor.