Chris Walsh’s pro ball journey on hold for now

Caledon’s Chris Walsh (right) has a front row seat as the Peoria Chiefs’ athletic therapist. Photo credit: Allison Rhoades.

April 27, 2020

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

The instruction to minor league professional players and staff in mid-March was simple: “Go home.”

Chris Walsh of Caledon, Ont. has been riding bicycles in Florida rather than buses in the midwestern U.S. ever since.

It has been a long journey for Walsh, 34, to realize his professional baseball dream. He was getting ready for his second season as the athletic therapist for the Peoria Chiefs, the St Louis Cardinals’ affiliate in the class A Midwest League, when the season was put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.

Walsh grew up in Caledon, northwest of Toronto, playing catcher and third base for the Bolton Braves, recently renamed the Caledon Nationals of the York Simcoe Baseball Association. He says he was not a star player, but that is when his love of the sport and his dreams of a pro career were hatched.

He completed a four-year undergraduate degree in kinesiology at Acadia University after transferring from a one-year stint in engineering. Then, he completed a four-year, undergraduate honors bachelor’s degree, athletic therapy at Sheridan College in three years. His education resulted in hockey internships with the Guelph Storm (OHL) and Toronto Marlies (AHL) as well as the Detroit Tigers of the American League.

But full-time employment as an athletic therapist with a Major League Baseball (MLB) organization was to be six more years in the future.

In the meantime, he was athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Ontario Blue Jays, an elite travel team based in Toronto. Eventually, he secured job interviews with a handful of MLB teams. The Cardinals hired Walsh and he became athletic therapist for their affiliate in the rookie class Gulf Coast League, Jupiter, Florida in 2017 for two seasons.

“Playing baseball every day in the summer Florida heat takes its toll on the human body. It is a big challenge for the players, most of whom are playing professional baseball every day for the first time,” Walsh explained. “There are different variables involved, even for the trainers like me. I had to acclimatize to the weather myself which made it interesting while at the same time teaching the players about hydration and heat fatigue.”

Walsh spent 2019 in the class A Midwest League where he noticed some differences contrasted to the previous two seasons.

“Travel was different and another variable for an athletic trainer to consider. In Florida, our bus rides were often about 30 minutes. With Peoria, they could be up to eight or nine hours, often at night. Sleep became another challenge and learning point,” he said.

Prehab and rehab

Sports medicine is a growing clinical specialty in professional sports and many other environments. Certified athletic therapists, the proper name for Walsh’s profession, are key players along with doctors and physiotherapists . Sports medicine has been growing rapidly in professional baseball in recent years.

Many baseball fans recognize an athletic therapist only when one sprints onto the field from time to time to attend to an injured player. But the job is far more involved than just those situations.

“Typically, I will show up at the ballpark five to seven hours before game time. Most of our work is done before the game, getting players ready to perform and doing prehab, not just rehab. Prehab, or performance testing to help players stay fit and on the field through injury limitation and prevention has become a big part of our job,” Walsh said.

“After the game there is more attention to individual players, body maintenance care, soft tissue work such as massages and cold tub, hot tub work to get players ready for the next day. During the game is usually our quietest time and an opportunity to watch, listen and learn more about baseball. The more performance staff can learn about the game from players and coaches, the better for everyone.”

The Cardinals have an integrated sports medicine team that collaborates from the bottom to the top of the organization, Walsh says.

“We have abundant resources and a high level of skill and experience about human movement as it relates to baseball. It is a positive environment where we are encouraged to learn and improve.”

The focus on prehab has resulted in the development of different types of wearable technology to collect and measure sport movements such as baseball swings and throws. The analysis of the data allows identification of trends that could improve player performance and identify injury possibilities. These devices underscore the increasing sophistication of sports medicine in professional baseball.

One such device among others is called OptimEye S5 which is worn in a harness between a player’s shoulder blades and provides data through a GPS locator and an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer to measure the lean, the turn and the force of the body in baseball movements.

Many baseball injuries occur in non-contact incidents, and it is hoped measuring and controlling the exercise load of players will help reduce these types of injuries. The metrics developed for pitching and bat swings enable baseball coaches to control the volume and intensity of key movements that lead to overuse injuries, which could cost millions of dollars annually in lost salaries at the professional level.

Currently, while approved by MLB and overseen by both the union and the leagues, in-game use of wearable technology is up to individual teams and often includes confidentiality agreements.

Uncertain future

Professional baseball is on hold as a result of the pandemic, creating uncertainty for fans, players, professional staff, owners and others.

The Cardinals have announced they will pay employees at least until May 31.

“We are really trying to understand what the future looks like before we make any decisions. Clearly, our economic engine has changed drastically. We are definitely trying to do the right thing if we can,” John Mozeliak, the team’s president of baseball operations, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch in late April.

The Cardinals have also set up two $1 million dollar relief funds to provide financial support for concession workers, cleanup crew, and other game-day and related staff employed by the team.

In the meantime, Chris Walsh has been spending time with his wife and their three children riding bicycles and helping with math homework in Florida.

“Baseball is considered a non-essential business, so we are just waiting to see how it all pans out,” Walsh said. “Everything is in a holding pattern.”

Everything, including the continuation of his lifelong pursuit of a professional baseball career.