Rocco Baldelli Career, Life in Jeopardy?

After years of speculation that had people labeling Rocco Baldelli everything from "soft" to possibly having MS, the Tampa Bay Ray's outfielder finally has an answer to all those questionable injuries that have plagued his legs throughout his career. ESPN.com and MLB.com report that in a meeting with the media on Wednesday Baldelli said that while there has been no exact diagnosis, doctors have told him that it appears his body has "metabolic or mitochondrial abnormalities." It was said to be a rare condition, that leaves the body unable to recuperate following a workout and eventually could possibly be life threatening. Baldelli said that while he was upset and having difficulty coming to grips with the news and realization of the diagnosis he had no pans to retire and plans to pursue every avenue he could to get back onto the field.

Baldelli's injuries are almost as well documented as the criticisms he has received for constantly being stricken by them. It is a shame to see such a young talent fall from grace so quickly, without ever realizing his potential as a ball player.

To be honest I do not know much of anything about injuries like this. Hamstrings, backs, wrists, ankles, all fine, I can give some sort of idea of when to expect a player to bounce back and how they can perform. Something like this, when terms like, "life threatening" are involved the impact goes well beyond the baseball field and into real life. To further that, I really do not know much about the ailment to speculate on how "life threatening" something like this can be.

We here at FSE wish Baldelli well and hope he is able to live a happy and productive life after this diagnosis, let alone play ball professionally again.