Help Needed: Hitters Who Played Through a 2022 Injury by Jeff Zimmerman October 10, 2022 So it is time for the annual article examing how hitters performed who didn’t let an injury heal and played through the pain. Whether these hitters cause permanent damage to their bodies or pick up bad habits, they continue to underperform their projections. Besides tallying the results, I have started collecting next year’s player list. I first determined the decline in an article covering 2017 to 2019 and have continued collecting names and results (2020 and 2021). So here is how the hitters who played through a 2021 injury performed compared to their 2022 projection. Performance of Hitters Who Played Through a 2021 Injury Name (injury) Steamer Proj Actual Difference Alex Bregman (lower body) .865 .820 -.045 Alex Kirilloff (wrist) .800 .651 -.149 Alex Verdugo (leg) .802 .733 -.069 Anthony Rendon (hip) .840 .706 -.134 Anthony Santander (knee) .763 .773 .010 Bryce Harper (wrist) .934 .878 -.056 Byron Buxton (patellar tendinitis/hand) .838 .832 -.006 Cavan Biggio (hand & back) .744 .668 -.076 Chris Taylor (neck) .751 .677 -.074 Christian Yelich (back) .833 .738 -.095 Cody Bellinger (shoulder) .811 .654 -.157 Curt Casali (wrist) .666 .649 -.017 Daz Cameron (toe) .711 .630 -.081 DJ LeMahieu (hernia) .773 .734 -.039 Dominic Smith (shoulder) .752 .560 -.192 George Springer (knee) .845 .814 -.031 Gio Urshela (knee) .729 .767 .038 Hunter Dozier (hand) .722 .679 -.043 J.D. Davis (hand) .762 .758 -.004 J.T. Realmuto (shoulder) .766 .820 .054 Jake Cronenworth (finger) .783 .727 -.056 Jonathan India (shoulder) .804 .705 -.099 Jorge Mateo (back) .661 .646 -.015 Josh Donaldson (calf) .844 .682 -.162 Ke’Bryan Hayes (wrist) .760 .659 -.101 Kolten Wong (oblique) .747 .769 .022 Kyle Farmer (abdominal) .712 .701 -.011 Luis Robert (hip) .850 .745 -.105 Luke Voit (knee) .803 .710 -.093 Manny Machado (shoulder) .858 .897 .039 Mike Moustakas (plantar fasciitis) .776 .640 -.136 Mike Yastrzemski (hand) .772 .697 -.075 Mookie Betts (shoulder/back & hip) .866 .873 .007 Nick Senzel (knee) .770 .602 -.168 Rhys Hoskins (back) .847 .794 -.053 Stephen Piscotty (wrist) .690 .593 -.097 Tom Murphy (shoulder) .687 .894 .207 Tommy Pham (stabbing) .799 .686 -.113 Trevor Larnach (shoulder) .714 .712 -.002 Trevor Story (shoulder) .786 .737 -.049 Ty France (wrist) .803 .777 -.026 Wil Myers (knee) .742 .713 -.029 Willy Adames (quadricep) .776 .756 -.020 Xander Bogaerts (wrist) .830 .833 .003 Yadier Molina (foot) .683 .535 -.148 Average -.054 Median -.053 Adjusted to run environment Average -.021 Median -.020 In one of the above studies, the hitters underperformed by 17 OPS points and 23 points in the other. These guys split the historical difference down the middle and missed their projections by 20 points. Again, playing through an injury is not a reason to ignore a player since some are stars, but more of a slight downgrade when comparing to similar hitters. I’ve started collecting players who were known (reference link included) to play through an injury. Hitters Who Played Through a 2022 Injury Name Injury Amed Rosario wrist Austin Hays wrist Avisaíl García hand, knee Brandon Belt knee Brandon Crawford knee Brandon Lowe back Bryan Reynolds oblique Bryce Harper elbow Byron Buxton knee Charlie Blackmon knee David Fletcher hand Didi Gregorius knee DJ LeMahieu wrist and toe Eduardo Escobar oblique Francisco Lindor finger George Springer elbow Gleyber Torres wrist Isiah Kiner-Falefa finger Jared Walsh shoulder Jazz Chisholm knee Joey Votto hand Jonathan India knee Jose Ramirez thumb Ke’Bryan Hayes back Kevin Kiermaier hip Kris Bryant foot Luis Arraez hamstring Luis Robert wrist Luke Voit bicep Max Muncy UCL Miguel Cabrera knee Miguel Rojas wrist Mitch Garver forearm Nolan Arenado back Rafael Devers hamstring Ronald Acuna Jr. knee Salvador Perez thumb, eye Taylor Ward shoulder Teoscar Hernandez foot/ankle Trevor Story elbow Trey Mancini hand Wil Myers thumb Wilson Contreras ankle Xander Bogaerts wrist, shoulder Yordan Alvarez hand Some more: Andres Gimenez (finger) Andrew Vaughn (leg) Anthony Rizzo (back) Cal Raleigh (thumb) Eddie Rosario (eyes) Gavin Lux (neck) Jesse Winker (knee, neck) Ji-Man Choi (elbow) Jose Ramirez (hand) Julio Rodriguez (finger) Kolten Wong (lower body) Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (wrist) Ketel Marte (hamstring) Martín Maldonado (hand) Nelson Cruz (eyes) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (wrist) Trevor Larnach (hand) Again, let me know in the comments if anyone else needs to be included, preferably with links. Here are some guys who MAY have played through an injury but I couldn’t verify. In most cases, they were hurt but sat for a few games or were placed in the IL. Hitters Who MAY Have Played Through a 2022 Injury Name Injury Anthony Rizzo back Chris Taylor neck Eric Hosmer back Gavin Lux neck J.D. Martinez back Jose Altuve shoulder Josh Naylor ankle/back Manny Machado ankle Max Kepler UNK Nick Castellanos foot Starling Marte Groin Tommy La Stella Achilles Ty France calf or elbow Wander Franco hamate Thanks for the help and I will add more players once they are verified.