Kevin Koski’s injry similar to major leaguer Scott Rolin’s

The 35-game hitting streak Kevin Koski held through the end of the 2005 baseball season may be put on hold longer than expected.

The junior outfielder is scheduled for surgery this morning at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Advertisement

The labrum is a ring of cartilage in the shoulder that helps stabilize the shoulder similar to the cartilage in the knee, SIU trainer Ed Thompson said.

Koski said he started to notice a nagging pain in his shoulder toward the end of the 2005 baseball season. At that time, he said trainers thought he was experiencing tendonitis, but his physical therapist said his symptoms could be indicative of a labrum tear.

Regardless, Koski opted to play for the Hyannis Mets in the Cape Cod League during the summer where, after a slow start, he ended up hitting .235 with 5 RBI.

Through his summer playing in the Cape League, Koski said the pain continued to worsen, and upon the completion of his summer season, he decided to have the injury checked out further.

“When I got home, I had an MRI and found out I had been playing with a torn labrum all summer,” Koski said.

The injury is similar to what has kept Scott Rolen out of the St. Louis Cardinal’s lineup for much of the Major League baseball season. Rolen is currently on a six-month rehab.

Koski said the doctors are not sure of the extent of the tear, and therefore he is unsure of how long he will be sidelined.

Advertisement*

“I know I’ll be able to swing a bat after three months,” Koski said. “But as far as throwing goes, it might be five months.”

Though he can’t pinpoint any specific moment he started to notice the pain, Koski thinks he may have injured it while making a diving catch and aggravated it more through throwing.

SIU baseball coach Dan Callahan said in his experience, labrum injuries aren’t uncommon, but they are more often seen in pitchers rather than position players.

Thompson, however, said any player who routinely throws a ball can experience a tear in the labrum. He said the bicep tendon can pull at the labrum and cause a tear.

“It’s extremely common in throwers,” Thompson said. “He’s an outfielder, and he makes numerous throw everyday in practice. Even though he is not a pitcher, he is trying to make very strong throws.”

One option Koski said was presented to him was to rehab the shoulder for four months and play through the injury, but he said that would have been delaying the inevitable.

“I could have tried to, but what it comes down to is how long I want to play baseball,” Koski said. “I figure if I get it done now, I’ll still have a pretty good chance to be ready for the season.”

Callahan said the fall will not be any kind of audition for Koski and he will not try to hurry him into the lineup if he is not properly healed.

For the Salukis in 2005, Koski hit for a .380 average and knocked in 32 runs for the 38-21 Salukis.

Koski’s teammate senior outfielder Grant Gerrard spent almost half of the 2005 season out of the lineup battling a wrist injury. Gerrard said he told Koski a little bit about what to expect during rehabilitation.

“It’s a struggle trying to get back in shape,” Gerrard said. “It takes longer than you expect, it gets frustrating, but he’ll get through it.”

Reporter William Ford can be reached at [email protected]