For seven months, from the heart of the summer until the start of spring training, Trayce Thompson fixated on the condition of his back. He thought about strengthening and healing the fractures that short-circuited his season. He thought about flexibility and function. He thought about what it would take to make it back in time to play in the Dodgers’ outfield in 2017.
What he did not think about much, during his journey back to baseball, was the actual act of playing the game, the competition between pitchers and hitters that occurs on every pitch.