Injuries are inevitable in sports. In professional sports, injuries have not only impacted a player’s career, but also influenced a team. In the 2022 season, several players suffered serious injuries, hence they couldn’t contribute much to their teams.
Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020. He came back last summer. In the 2021 season, Chris Sale made 9 starts for the Red Sox. He posted a 3.16 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP over 42.2 innings last year. This season, Sale began his season on the injured list. In July, he made 2 starts. He tossed 5 innings in his first start. In the second start, Sale was hit on the left pinkie finger by a line drive, unfortunately he only threw 0.2 innings. Moreover, he broke his wrist in a bicycle accident in August and underwent season-ending surgery. In total, Sale only tossed 5.2 innings in 2022. Also in August, Walker Buehler posted a photo on Instagram, indicating that he underwent Tommy John surgery again. Walker Buehler was placed on the injured list in June. Before being placed on the IL, he made 12 starts for the Dodgers and had a 4.02 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 65 innings. Buehler tossed his first career shutout in April. In addition, the Cincinnati Reds placed Joey Votto on the 60-day injured list in mid-August. It’s not the first time that Votto was placed on the IL in 2022. In early May, Votto was placed on the Covid IL. The 2010 NL MVP only played 91 games for the Reds this season, slashing .205/.319/.370 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. Last season, Votto hit .266/.375/.563 with 36 home runs and 99 RBI in 129 games. Finally, let’s go back to 2019. In 2019, the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in the World Series to lift the trophy. In the 2019 World Series, Anthony Rendon batted .276/.344/.586 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. At the same time, Stephen Strasburg made 2 starts and got 2 wins. It’s not a surprise to see Strasburg earn 2 wins. In these two starts, he tossed 14.1 innings and gave up only 4 runs. Meanwhile, he struck out 14 batters. After the 2019 season, Strasburg and the Nationals agreed to a 7-year deal and Rendon inked a 7-year contract with the Angels. However, they each have missed significant time due to injuries. Stephen Strasburg only made 2 starts in 2020. Last season, Strasburg made just 5 starts and threw 21.2 innings for the Nationals. This season, he only made 1 start. Well, the Nationals front office might be frustrated that Strasburg doesn’t eat too many innings these three seasons. In the meantime, it’s certain that the Angels fans don’t want to see Rendon be placed on the IL. Rendon hit .240/.329/.382 with 6 home runs and 34 in 58 games last season. This season, things got even worse. Rendon only played 45 games in 2022 and he underwent a season-ending wrist surgery in June. In 2022, Rendon batted .228/.324/.383 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI. It’s always a loss that a star player misses playing time due to injury. In particular, as the postseason is coming, a star player who couldn’t play in the postseason will surely be a huge loss. Chris Sale closed out game 5 of the World Series in 2018. Rendon and Strasburg helped the Nationals win the first World Series title. Walker Buehler tossed 79.2 innings for the Dodgers in the postseason from 2018 to 2021 and this year, the Dodgers will play October baseball without Walker Buehler.
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