MLBTR Chat Transcript

Didi was awful in 2021. He had no balance at SS, and was off-kilter at the plate.

He also contracted gout in 2021.

I had gout in 2021. It’s hardly an old persons disease. It’s a form of arthritis that typically occurs in joints, usually around the big toe(s). Its cause is urate crystals that accumulate in the joint(s). That can come from a side effect of medications; eating a lot of red meat, fish, and/or drinking beverages made with fructose – among other things.

The big toe is what humans depend on for balance. I (and people I know) have broken a number of the other 8 toes, and never missed a beat. Didi was also living with physical issues that may have made him the top candidate in MLB to die should he have contacted COVID. It may have had him taking preventative medications that built up the urate acids. For sure it weighed on him mentally.

I met a woman yesterday. We were talking about medical issues (she was wearing a cast as bones in her foot and ankle were broken in an accident). I mentioned gout. She immediately said her husband had died an awful, painful death due to cancer – but he told her that the pain of having gout was worse.

I’d suggest that slowly the urate acids Didi had will be neutralized in the offseason. I look for him to be back to normal physically in 2022. If the Phillies are dumb enough to trade him, someone is going to have a very good major league SS in 2022.