Pittsburgh sports teams hope 2020 won't be another injury-filled year

As the calendar flipped to 2020, the happiest people in Pittsburgh were likely the players, coaches and fans of the Steel City’s professional sports teams.

A spate of injuries to high-profile athletes across all sports in 2019, including some of the most recognizable names in pro football, baseball and hockey, derailed the Pirates’ and Steelers’ seasons and created huge challenges for the Penguins.

The list includes a who’s who of current Pittsburgh sports stars: Ben Roethlisberger, James Conner, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Josh Bell, to name a few.

“I don’t recall anything at all like this,” said veteran sportscaster Stan Savran, whose career in Pittsburgh spans more than four decades. “Of course, Sidney Crosby’s extended absences because of concussions certainly comes to mind. But that didn’t happen in conjunction with major injuries of the other major league sports franchises as well.”

It’s not just the number of injuries — it’s injuries to athletes who play an integral role for their teams.

“Injuries have been a part of sports forever, and it’s hard to prevent them. They can happen anytime, anywhere,” said longtime WPXI-TV Sports Director Alby Oxen­reiter. “But when you see so many injuries, it’s tough when the injury is to the best players on the team.”

All these injuries to our beloved Pittsburgh sports teams. Where do we go from here? I’ll have a story on ⁦@TribLIVE⁩ this weekend. pic.twitter.com/rGcsN1VAjA

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) January 10, 2020

First came the Pirates

It began with the Pirates losing three of their five starting pitchers for significant stretches of time. In the first half of their season, they were just a game below .500 and in contention for the playoffs. But then they crumbled. The Bucs couldn’t overcome the injuries, including the right elbow flexor strain suffered by ace pitcher Jameson Taillon. He ended up having his second Tommy John surgery.

In September, Bell, who was having an all-star year with 37 home runs, 116 RBIs and .936 OPS, sustained a season-ending groin injury. The Pirates finished with a 69-93 record, the second worst in the National League.

Around the same time, the Steelers learned quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, would be lost for the year because of an elbow injury requiring season-ending surgery.

“The Steelers had never lost their star quarterback (for nearly an entire season) before,” Savran said. “The one injury you can’t overcome is to the quarterback.”

Unlike the Pirates, however, the Steelers were able to make a late-season run and stay in playoff contention despite a litany of injuries. They fell short at the end, however, missing the postseason for the second consecutive year.

Other key Steelers who were injured included backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, who sustained a concussion and season-ending left shoulder injury; defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, who suffered a season-ending pectoral injury after just six games; wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who missed a significant amount of time with concussion and knee problems; and Conner, with knee and shoulder problems.

Steelers’ luck worst since ’70s

Oxenreiter said the Steelers haven’t experienced anything like this in more than 40 years.

“The thing that sticks out in my mind from having grown up here is 1976, when the Steelers were going for their third straight Super Bowl after winning Super Bowls IX and X,” Oxenreiter said.

“The Steelers had to deal with a chunk of the season without (Hall of Famer quarterback) Terry Bradshaw, who missed six games for a variety of reasons including a neck injury. And then after they made it to the AFC Championship Game in Oakland, Franco (Harris) and Rocky (Bleier) were both hurt in the same week and missed that game.”

The Raiders ended up winning the conference championship and the Super Bowl.

Penguins hang in there

But while losing star players for long stretches of time has been something the Steelers have largely been able to avoid, it’s nothing new for the Penguins.

“The Penguins are a franchise where Mario (Lemieux) and Sid have had to deal with so many injuries,” Oxenreiter said. “Mario played in 64% of his (eligible) games and Sid has played, I think, in 81% of the games. So when you’re dealing with the two top players of all time missing that much play because of injuries, injuries are always a concern.”

And the Penguins have had plenty to be concerned about halfway through the 2019-20 season.

The biggest worry, of course, has been the injury to Crosby. The Penguins’ superstar captain has been out since Nov. 9 with a core muscle injury, but is close to returning and could play as soon as Sunday at Arizona.

The excitement over Crosby’s imminent return has been tempered by the recent loss of leading scorer Guentzel. A 40-goal scorer last year, Guentzel saw his season come to an abrupt end when he slammed into the boards Dec. 30 in a game against Ottawa.

Considering the Penguins lost star forward Evgeni Malkin for most of October and all-star defenseman Kris Letang for most of November with lower-body injuries — and are also without two of their top defensemen, Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz — it’s amazing they entered the weekend tied for second in the Metropolitan Division.

“No one would have predicted that the Penguins would do as well as they have without Sidney Crosby for such a significant amount of time,” Savran said.

“When you see so many injuries for the Pirates, and then when the Steelers’ season starts and actually overlaps with all the injuries they had to deal with. And then (the Steelers’) season overlaps with the Penguins’ and their injuries, it’s remarkable,” said Oxenreiter, who attributes the onslaught of injuries to bad luck.

Sports doc: Bigger, faster means more injuries

At least one expert said he has a good medical explanation.

Dr. David Chao, a former team doctor for the San Diego Chargers, has become a social media force by using game video to offer opinions on injuries in real time. He said evolution can’t keep up with today’s finely tuned athletes.

“Why are we seeing so many Achilles’ ruptures or ACL tears? As players get bigger, faster and stronger, your ACL doesn’t get any thicker. Your Achilles’ doesn’t get any bigger. As you have more and more force and torque, because people are working out, you’re putting more stress on your body and there’s more failure,” Chao said.

“It’s sort of like, if you build the engine bigger, the suspension doesn’t hold up. And if you make the car go faster and do more things, more things break. And that’s where we’re at.”

Chao said there is information about injuries that wasn’t available until recently.

“Even 10 years ago, if a guy had a headache, his teammates would have looked at him and said, ‘So … talk to me after the game. Let’s go,’ ” Chao said. “Nowadays, if you see momentary stars and you report it, people say, ‘OK, let’s be safe.’ And that also happens with knee injuries and muscle injuries.”

Whatever the cause, Savran said the rash of injuries suffered by the Penguins can’t get any worse.

“I probably shouldn’t say that. They have endured about as much as they can possibly endure and they have not only survived, they have thrived. They’re playing some of their best hockey of the year without Sid,” Savran said.

It’s probably not unreasonable to think that the worst is behind the Penguins, if not the Steelers and Pirates, when it comes to injuries. After all, it’s a new year.