Monday, January 16, 2006
The Adrian Beltre Anomaly
Seattle Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre's anomalous, monstrous '04 year - when he batted .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBI for the Dodgers - may be attributable to a purported minor injury that forced him to stay back on one foot and swing late through the zone, providing additional power, more contact and a right-line bias to his grounders and liners. Regrettably for Beltre, however, he recovered in '05 and was unable to keep from swinging as he has for most of his career, stepping forward and swinging too early through the zone.
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Doctor X -- the 'Baseball Medic' -- is an anonymous U.S. government trauma specialist with a Duke University sports medicine background and more than 20 years experience in emergency medicine. From time to time he considers MLB rumors, events and news reports as they pertain to baseball players' injuries, illnesses and various other disabilities, both on the field and off.
MLB Rumors editor Greg Fieg is a former sports news editor and award-winning writer whose bylines have appeared on the wires of the Associated Press and in numerous publications, including San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio Light, Houston Chronicle and Philadelphia Bulletin. He formerly was posted in various positions on the U.S.-Mexican border with Freedom Newspapers, and was a regular, independent contributor to United Press International.