CLEVELAND — Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels’ center fielder and perhaps baseball’s best player, drew a walk here last week, trotted to first base and put on a protective sliding glove that resembled an oven mitt.
Trout, a two-time most valuable player in the American League, is one of three prominent players who have hurt their thumbs and fingers while sliding headfirst this season, along with Carlos Correa, the Houston Astros’ All-Star shortstop, and Kris Bryant, the Chicago Cubs’ third baseman and the reigning M.V.P. in the National League.
These high-profile incidents have occurred soon after the publication of the first in-depth study about the frequency and effects of sliding injuries in professional baseball.