Starscreams | The Doctor is Out (55.26)

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Starscreams: A Valencia Stars Baseball Blog

The Doctor is Out

11/05/2055
Brianna Robles, Starscreams contributor

Today, the Valencia Stars announced the retirement of longtime team trainer, Dr. Jorge De Los Santos, and Stars fans lost one of their go-to punching bags. The sixty-two year-old De Los Santos first stepped into the team trainer role in Valencia back in 2036, a position he would hold for nineteen seasons.

Most recently, De Los Santos came under fire on fan forums for a cluster of prominent pitcher injuries and largely unsuccessful recoveries therefrom. In a 18 month span, the Stars lost starter Carlton Day (a former #13 prospect who had a 3.6 WAR in 30 starts in 2049) to a torn UCL (3/24/50), starter Michael Dixon (3.5 WAR in 32 starts in 2048) to a torn labrum (5/16/50), starter Harold Newbold (3.3 WAR in 24 starts in 2049) to a torn elbow ligament (5/4/51), and closer John Olson (2.30 ERA and 32 saves in 2051)to radial nerve entrapment (9/15/51). None of these guys would ever get back to their previous levels of performance.

Since 2050 the Stars have had just two starters post more than 3.0 WAR in a season, Brian King (twice) and Ken Arroyo (twice). Losing, or at least effectively losing, three pitchers capable of that feat hurt the Stars, and fans of the team found a scapegoat in De Los Santos. All along, as injuries piled up and rehabs fell far short of what we hoped, the team insisted that De Los Santos had a good reputation in the community of athletic trainers and sports physicians and could find no fault with how he went about his work. Rumors that the club asked for De Los Santos's resignation have been denied by both parties.

Bad injury luck happens, and it happened to Valencia. Is it fair to lay the 2050 collapse at De Los Santos's feet? Probably not.

[Jwalk100]

There have been a 'rash' of Team Trainer retirements the last couple of seasons.

[RonCo]

Brutal injury streak.