Does "flashy" play get you hurt?

[Nearsighted Views]

Here's some semi-flame bait: If Hall wasn't so preoccupied with making a dramatic, flashy play would he have been injured?

 

This came up in another thread but I thought it would inspire some interesting conversation while keeping the other thread on subject.

 

I want to see the effort. It's hard to tell a guy not to try hard only in certain situations. If I'm not mistaken, though, I thought I heard Billy say he wanted to rob just 1 HR this year and that was what popped in my mind immediately upon learning of the injury.

[DSFastball55]

I don't think the play was flashy. It was aggressive, and that is what Bill Hall is known for. Bill Hall wins games in part because of his aggressiveness.

[thablingster]

My gut instinct says no, but at the same time I would probably say there is a higher probability of injury in those players who leave their feet/crash into walls/etc. more often than those who don't.

 

Realistically though, you can blow out a knee taking a wrong step in the outfield, or tweak a hammy trotting to first base, so in the end I think all of the injuries even out.

 

Obviously guys like Griffey and Edmonds are posterboys for people who have been injured making flashy plays, but we've also seen Griffey get injured on some of the most routine plays he has made. Also, I don't recall Andruw Jones missing a whole lot of time due to a fielding injury and he has made his fair share of flashy catches.

 

In some ways the human body can only take so much punishment, as shown by some of the guys who have broken their arm by just simply throwing a pitch. When the body is ready to go, it goes. Playing all out may speed up that process, but I don't think by not playing all out you could stop an injury from happening if it is going to happen.

[jason21nl]

being flashy and diving all around won't always get you hurt. but eventually it will take its toll on the body and injuries might come along later on in the career. Hall had no shot at catching the ball but gave it a good try. There are times when not trying to make the great play, is the best play. LIke diving for a ball instead of just keeping it in front of you. I'll take hall being agressive any day.

[brewers255]

Was the dirt wet when he attempted to catch the ball? I know it was pouring out 2-3 hours before that, and im wondering if his cleats might have gotten stuck into the dirt or something like that.

[stoutdude04]

Was the dirt wet when he attempted to catch the ball? Just unlucky...it happens. I am not that happy about it but the season will go on, and its nice it happened over the AS break.

[Nearsighted Views]

The one thing about Hall is that he jumps at balls he has absolutely no chance of catching. I saw him leap for a ball in the Houston series that landed on the concourse. Now I don't play MLB and I don't know what a player sees when going back on a ball but if you watch a ball fly that you can't get, you walk away. If you jump and land funny, you get carried away.

[tomwopat]

It seems to me like when outfielders rob home runs, it is jumps that are up into the air, launched from the flat ground, not the ones where they use the padding of an outfield wall to boost themselves up the wall. Ichiro!'s catch of last or the previous year serving as an exception.

 

It does seem like Hall tries to catch balls that he has no chance of catching. I seem to recall another HR to dead center field where he landed a bit funny and had the wind knocked out of him for a couple minutes.