The San Francisco Giants currently have one of the best catchers in the MLB, but how long will that last? Playing catcher in the major leagues is one of the most grueling and physically demanding jobs in sports. Most starting catchers play 110-130 of the 162 games a year, and only four played in over 140 this year.
Buster Posey is one of them.
What makes Posey special is he is one of the few, if not only, catchers to bat consistently over .300 at this position. On the MLB’s all-time stat charts, there is only one catcher since the 1930s to have a lifetime average over .300, and that’s Mike Piazza. The wear and tear on the body from this job makes it difficult to keep good batting statistics. In addition to the wear and tear, catchers have to spend a lot of time with pitchers developing their game as well. With the combination of time and abuse catching puts on the body, it is remarkable that Posey is able to be such a strong hitter. That is why the San Francisco Giants have started to protect him like the Minnesota Twins did with their ex-catcher Joe Mauer.
Mauer, like Posey, led the MLB in batting average during his first five seasons. But after a few years, his batting has been on the decline. The Twins moved Mauer to 1B in an attempt to prolong his career. The Giants have also started putting Posey at first base on occasion, to rest his legs and hope for better performance. And it works. By looking at his splits from 2014, he batted .348 at first, while .308 at catcher.
But besides resting Posey, what can be done to prolong his career behind the plate?
With advancements in physical therapy and sports medicine techniques, perpetual and regular treatment of Posey could keep him at catcher a little bit longer.
Ultra Sound & Electronic Stimulation
Two forms of physical therapy currently used in the sports setting are Ultra Sound and Electronic Stimulation. These two treatments alone will not permanently cure an athlete from injury, but they will help an athlete to heal. Ultra Sound, in sports medicine, is not the same as what is used to see inside the body. Instead, it is used for deep heating of the tissues and ligaments. By doing so, it increases circulation in those areas treated and can help heat a deeper injury than a normal heating pad. The main concern for Posey as a catcher is his knees. Keeping the ligaments from getting worn down and abused is a must, and ultrasound could help.
In addition, Electronic Stimulation to the knees would also help. Through this treatment, with ice and heat, an athlete’s muscles are stimulated to contract—thus, increasing blood flow to the area and speeding up the healing process.
Even to an uninjured Posey, these treatments could help keep his knees, and their supporting ligaments and muscles, healthy.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a relatively new and revolutionary way to treat tendon and ligament pain. In platelet-rich plasma therapy: the “patient’s blood is drawn and placed in a centrifuge for 15 minutes to separate out the platelets. The platelet-rich plasma is then injected into the damaged portion of the tendon or cartilage with the guidance of an ultrasound machine.”
The concentrated platelets from ones blood go directly to the injured area in this therapy to help heal the injury quicker.
In endurance competitions, a similar process called “blood doping” is illegal and sometimes deadly to the user. But that is injecting one’s own blood back into their bloodstream. Platelet-rich plasma therapy, however, “jump-starts” the healing process and accelerates it. This process has been known to significantly help chronic tendonitis, ACL injuries, ankle sprains, rotator cuff tears, and most other ligament and tendon injuries.
Using this treatment on Posey during the season might be a bit controversial, since it is a rehab treatment for bigger injuries, but using it on tired and worn down ligaments might help rejuvenate his knees during the season, and would definitely help in the offseason. Since his legs are so vital to hitting, this therapy could help maintain strength and stability in his legs throughout the season. Even treating the rest of his body with platelet-rich plasma may help prevent other injuries that may occur from the many innings behind the plate.
Aside from these medical technologies, the best hope to prolong Posey’s career at catcher is rest and position rotation. Few may know, but Posey’s freshman year at Florida State University, he was their starting Freshman All-American shortstop. There is a high caliber athlete in Posey; and keeping him athletic will also prolong his career. Maybe trying Posey in the outfield or third base might help keep his athleticism and health up. But when in doubt for taking care of Posey’s health, it is always good to think of RICE—Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.