It’s something most fans intuitively felt, but probably didn’t find the data to prove.
Now, thanks to Jeff Zimmerman and Hardball Times, the data is out (and remarkably user-friendly) and the results are just as you may have expected: the Los Angeles Dodgers were among the most injured teams in baseball last season.
According to Zimmerman’s research, the Dodgers as a team spent 1,557 days on the disabled list — third in all of baseball behind the Texas Rangers (1,846) and New York Mets (1,790).
The Dodgers’ number, for those wondering, is well above the league-average of 964 days on the disabled list. And, unfortunately for the Dodgers, their injury problems aren’t exactly a new trend.
Over the past three, five and 15 years the Dodgers are in the top three in every case — moving as high as second on the five-year total list.
Included in Zimmerman’s work is an overview of Tommy John recovery times and how the Dodgers compare to other teams. It’s complete with fantastic graphs, charts and visuals, and is a highly recommended read.
What’s of particular interest is how much the information almost justifies the offseason approach of the Dodgers’ front office. As was previously touched on, the Dodgers’ mentality seems simple thus far — win from within.
When taking into account a team that lost 1,557 days — or almost 600 more than league average — to injuries, it’s no surprise the front office thinks believes approach could work.
The list of players who at some point landed on the disabled list last season is staggering. It includes the Dodgers’ No. 3 (Hyun-Jin Ryu) and No. 4 (Brandon McCarthy) starters both missing nearly the entire season.
Additionally, their closer (Kenley Jansen), one of their best hitters (Yasiel Puig), and setup man (Chris Hatcher) all missed noticeable chunks of time. Not to mention shorter stints on the DL for the likes of Howie Kendrick, Justin Turner and others.
Now, it must be said, that every team deals with injuries and it’s not an excuse for failure in most cases. Take the Mets, the No. 2 most-injured team for example, and look at how they battled through injuries all the way to the World Series.
Obviously, both the Mets and the Dodgers would have been better positioned with better health, but teams have to deal with the cards they’ve been dealt.
That said, the Dodgers are hoping they’ll add 600 days worth (in a regression to the league average) of their players back. The concern, however, is in looking at the three-, five- and 15-year histories, and wondering whether that’s reasonable to expect.
