A DOCTOR AND A HOCKEY FAN DEBATE KYLE SCHWARBER’S GAME 3 STATUS

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs announced that Kyle Schwarber was not medically cleared to play in outfield for World Series games in Wrigley Field. Schwarber, of course, had a great stint in DH in the first two games, but he’s still recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered at the beginning of the season.

So, though he’s not medically cleared, should he still play outfield tonight? Well, we have an important point/counterpoint today to determine this. To help us figure this out, we’ll hear first from a certified doctor, and then from... a hockey fan.

POINT: Kyle Schwarber isn’t medically cleared, and playing outfield would be unsafe and potentially cause more damage

Hello there. I’ve been a licensed orthopedic surgeon for over 20 years now, and believe me, torn ACLs are serious injuries. The rehabilitation time for this injury is at least six months, and sometimes up to nine. A torn ACL is not something that you easily come back from.

The fact that Kyle Schwarber was even able to hit, after having ACL surgery just over six months ago, is pretty remarkable in its own right. But he has to think about his future as a baseball player. If he’s not medically cleared to play in the outfield, then he and the Cubs organization are making a smart decision not to push him into doing so.

COUNTERPOINT: If Schwarber were a hockey player, he’d be out there on the ice right now

Ohhhhh look!

Schwarber’s not starting huh?

NO SURPRISE!

He doesn’t play a REAL TOUGH MAN SPORT. Like HOCKEY!

You know, when a HOCKEY PLAYER tears his ACL he is right back out there on the ice ON HIS NEXT SHIFT. THAT’S HOCKEY TOUGH! Obviously this isn’t the case in a wimpy-ass sport like BASEBALL!

“OH NOOOO A LITTLE KNEE OWIEEE! WAAAHHHH! I GOTTA SIT OUT THE WHOLE YEAR!”

Hockey players would NEVER do that!

HEY LOOK AT THIS COOL THING I FOUND ONLINE. Show how much TOUGHER hockey players are than guys like LEBRON JAMES!

This dude literally DIED and he kept playing.

THAT’S HOCKEY TOUGH!

LeBron? Well he’s like, “WAHHHH WAHHHH I HAS A BOO BOO!”

He’s not HOCKEY TOUGH! I’d like to see HIM survive a check from Jonathan Toews!

ANYWAY. If Schwarber were a hockey player he wouldn’t let a MINOR INJURY like a torn ACL stop him! He’d be out there for EVERY SHIFT in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Maybe that’s why he plays BASEBALL, where something like a papercut keeps you out for months, and not HOCKEY, where a huge injury hasn’t EVER stopped a player from trying to UNSELFISHLY help out his TEAM.

I even heard about this hockey player once in Finland who lost ALL his teeth AND kept bleeding after taking a puck to the head. Well, you know what? HE WAS RIGHT BACK OUT THERE TWO MINUTES LATER.

GUESS THESE BASEBALL GUYS JUST DON’T WANT TO PLAY THROUGH IT LIKE HOCKEY PLAYERS DO HUH?

Please like my sport!

(Loudly sings Chelsea Dagger)