Crotin Ryan L, Yanai Toshimasa, Chalmers Peter, Smale Kenneth B, Erickson Brandon J, Kaneoka Koji, Ishii Masaya
Los Angeles Angels, Anaheim, California, USA.
Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 May 18;9(5):23259671211008810. doi: 10.1177/23259671211008810. eCollection 2021 May.
There has been minimal research investigating injury and pitching performance differences between Major League Baseball (MLB) and other professional leagues.
PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: This 2-team comparison between MLB and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) involved affiliated players over 5 years. We hypothesized that teams would differ in the injury incidence, mechanism of injury, pitch velocity, and pitch type usage.
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Between 2015 and 2019, pitching data as well as injury statistics for the highest level and minor league affiliates of the Los Angeles Angels (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (NPB) were reviewed for significant differences in the injury prevalence, injury type, mechanism of injury, and days missed. In total, 3781 MLB and 371 NPB injuries were studied.
MLB-affiliated players were significantly younger, taller, and heavier ( < .001) than were NPB-affiliated players. MLB-affiliated pitchers threw faster than did their NPB counterparts ( = .026). MLB minor league pitchers threw more curveballs than did NPB minor league pitchers ( = .004), and MLB minor league relief pitchers threw more sliders than did NPB minor league relief pitchers ( = .02). The MLB team had a 3.7-fold higher incidence of injuries versus the NPB team (0.030 vs 0.008 injuries per player-game, respectively) as well as more repeat injuries, with fewer days missed per injury (15.8 ± 54.7 vs 36.2 ± 55.1 days, respectively; < .001). The MLB team also had a higher percentage of injuries that were throwing related ( < .001), were contact related ( < .001), and occurred outside of competition ( < .001) compared with the NPB team.
This is the first empirical study examining injury trends and pitching characteristics between MLB and NPB athletes. MLB-affiliated pitchers threw faster and relied more on breaking pitches in comparison with NPB-affiliated pitchers. From injury data, MLB players were younger, taller, and heavier with a higher percentage of throwing-related injuries, contact injuries, and injuries sustained outside of competition. Overall, the MLB team indicated a 3.7-fold higher rate of reported injuries with fewer days missed per injury than did the NPB team. Competitive conditions are distinctly different between MLB and NPB, and thus, more extensive research collaborations in the future can identify best practices to advance health and performance for both leagues.
关于美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB）与其他职业联盟之间的伤病情况及投球表现差异的研究极少。
目的/假设：这项对MLB和日本职业棒球（NPB）两个联盟的比较研究涉及5年期间的附属球员。我们假设两个联盟在伤病发生率、受伤机制、投球速度和投球类型使用方面存在差异。
描述性流行病学研究。
回顾了2015年至2019年期间洛杉矶天使队（MLB）和广岛东洋鲤鱼队（NPB）最高级别及小联盟附属球队的投球数据以及伤病统计数据，以比较伤病患病率、伤病类型、受伤机制和缺阵天数方面的显著差异。总共研究了3781例MLB伤病和371例NPB伤病。
MLB附属球员比NPB附属球员明显更年轻、更高、更重（P <.001）。MLB附属投手投球速度比NPB附属投手更快（P =.02）。MLB小联盟投手比NPB小联盟投手投出更多的曲线球（P =.004），MLB小联盟救援投手比NPB小联盟救援投手投出更多的滑球（P =.02）。MLB球队的伤病发生率比NPB球队高3.7倍（分别为每球员 - 比赛0.030次伤病和0.008次伤病），且重复伤病更多，每次伤病的缺阵天数更少（分别为15.8±54.7天和36.2±55.1天；P <.001）。与NPB球队相比，MLB球队与投球相关的伤病百分比更高（P <.001）、与接触相关的伤病百分比更高（P <.001）以及在非比赛期间发生的伤病百分比更高（P <.001）。
这是第一项检验MLB和NPB运动员伤病趋势及投球特征的实证研究。与NPB附属投手相比，MLB附属投手投球速度更快，更依赖于变化球。从伤病数据来看，MLB球员更年轻、更高、更重，与投球相关的伤病、接触性伤病以及在非比赛期间遭受的伤病百分比更高。总体而言，MLB球队报告的伤病发生率比NPB球队高3.7倍，每次伤病的缺阵天数更少。MLB和NPB的竞争环境明显不同，因此，未来更广泛的研究合作可以确定最佳实践方法，以促进两个联盟的健康和表现提升。
