Seattle Mariners’ Franklin Gutierrez hopes to stay fit during the regular season – MLB Update
The Seattle Mariners’ Franklin Gutierrez hopes to recover quickly from stomach pain that he has recently been suffering from. As the 2011 Major League Baseball season is right around the corner, the players have become more conscious about their health.
Franklin has made a plan to maintain his fitness level for the entire season.
Franklin complained a week ago about an occasional stomach pain that had caused him to miss several games last season. He was checked by the team physician and advised to have several tests done. Franklin managed to participate in the Spring Training work-out
session on Saturday and tried to get back some of his momentum, according to the Mariners’ head trainer Rick Griffin. The work-out provided Franklin a good opportunity to see how he can manage the pain and maintain his fitness.
The medical tests have been performed and the doctor will discuss the various options with Gutierrez, as he visits the camp on Saturday. According to sources, the doctor may advise him to undergo frequent medical check-ups during the season. It is crucial
that the health issue is identified and treated as soon as possible, as Gutierrez is a key component to the Mariners’ defensive field.
The team officials are hopeful of Gutierrez’s come-back without any future problems according to Griffin as he said, "They took a lot of tests, trying to rule out a lot of things, and we got a few of the results back, but not all of them." He further added
that team management has advised the doctor to pinpoint the root cause of the problem that caused Gutierrez to miss several major games in 2010.
Last year, despite of pain, Gutierrez managed a 100 per cent fielding average, as he won the Gold Glove Award for top out-fielder. He also managed to climb into the second spot for the MLB.com Defensive Player of the year award.
The 28-year-old right handed centre-fielder began his MLB career in 2005 for the Cleveland Indians. He was brought in due to his tremendous performance in the Minor Leagues, as he scored 42 Runs Batted In with .261 batting averages for Akron and posted .254
with seven RBIs in 19 games with Triple-A Buffalo.
2009 was not a good year for Gutierrez, although he was on the top position among centre- fielders, he managed to make the most errors in a season. However, he focused himself for a better performance, as he scored .261 averages with 52 home runs, 219 RBIs
and stole 58 bases.
The team will be waiting anxiously to see how the doctor manages Gutierrez’s pain and ensures the players health for the regular season.
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