Collateral Damage: Where No Man Has Gone Before by Corey Dawkins and Marc Normandin

Erick Almonte, MIL (Concussion) Almonte may never end up in the Hall of Fame, but he will go into the record books as the first major leaguer placed on the 7-day disabled list for a concussion. Normally we see concussions occurring during game conditions, but Almonte suffered his after a ball thrown in batting practice hit him in the forehead. During our special on concussions, we discussed how the 7-day disabled list functions more as a roster insurance tool for teams than a way to ensure that players return safely, although it does make it easier for clubs to do the right thing. Return-to-play guidelines have been in effect for some time now, so the creation of a shorter DL stint merely gives team a littles extra flexibility in dealing with those pesky injuries that fall between "day-to-day" and "15-day." Almonte will have to take the computerized tests prior to returning to competition and have them compared to his baseline results. There have been discus...