NPR’s Scott Simon and sportswriter Howard Bryant discuss Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum’s return to the court from injury and the start of the World Baseball Classic tournament.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And now it’s time for sports.
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SIMON: An NBA star comes back from injury. Too soon? World Baseball Classic is back – Shohei Ohtani center stage once more. And you don’t like the ump’s call? Ha. Just tell the robot. Sports writer Howard Bryant joins us. Howard, thanks so much for being with us.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. How are you?
SIMON: I’m fine, thanks. And, well, how is Jayson Tatum? Star forward for the Celtics, played 27 minutes last night, scored a triple double leading them to victory against the Dallas Mavericks. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon less than 10 months ago. There was a time when that kind of injury ended careers. Is it remarkable or irresponsible for the Celts (ph) to bring him back so soon?
BRYANT: Well, it feels like a little bit of both, but mostly it’s remarkable. He – you’re giving him a little too much credit. He was a couple of assists away from a triple double. He had a double double – 15 points and 12 rebounds, seven assists in 27 minutes, which was a lot of minutes. And you’re watching a guy who tore his ACL in the playoffs against the Knicks last year, and every time he’s running up and down the court, you sort of hold your breath because anyone who’s ever played sports knows what – an Achilles is the injury. That’s why it’s called the Achilles heel, right? It’s the one thing…
SIMON: Yeah. Right.
BRYANT: …You really do not want.
SIMON: Yeah. Thanks for reminding us.
BRYANT: And yet…
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: …Here he is running up and down the court, and it reminds me a little bit of Lindsey Vonn. Here was Lindsey Vonn during the Olympics. And she had a catastrophic injury which ended her Olympics. But the fact that she was even there playing – you know, she was competing at a…
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: …World-class level on a partially artificial knee. And so it just is another example of what this modern technology can do. There was a time if you – of a certain generation when you looked at an ACL, and you remember the kids in high school who went skiing and they had the big zipper all the way down their knee. And now that injury is a nine- to 10- – not even nine- to 10-month recovery. You’re back – you know, I had an ACL, and you were back in six, seven months. And so the technology is amazing. It is incredible to see what Jayson Tatum is doing at a – once again, you’re at a world-class level playing less than a year after that injury. It is something. But I can tell you, Celtics fans are holding their breath every time they run up the court simply because…
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: …We all know that those injuries are – you don’t mess around with them, and may be better safe than sorry to wait. But the Celtics were very convinced, and Tatum was convinced that the plan was always to come back immediately.
SIMON: Baseball Classic got underway this week. Of course, Shohei Ohtani hit a grand slam home run…
BRYANT: Of course.
SIMON: …For Japan. U.S. debut last night – defeated Brazil 15 to 5. Aaron Judge hit a two-run home run. What do you make of the U.S.’ first game? Does the U.S. have a chance against Japan.
BRYANT: Yeah. You know, Japan’s probably favorite. The Dominican Republic – their lineup is incredible. The United States is right there. These are the best players in the world. And it’s fun. I’m a little wary of it, obviously, simply because asking these athletes – we just talked about injury. Asking these athletes to go full speed a few weeks after spring training began is kind of a lot, but it is a world showcase, and the countries love it. People sort of really enjoy it. I kind of – I watched the Puerto Rico game last night. I watched the United States and Brazil, with Manny Ramirez’s son, Lucas – how do you like to feel old?
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: Manny Ramirez’s son, Lucas, hit a home run against the United States playing for Brazil. And so it’s a great showcase. I will always be a little wary because, once again, max effort in March is not really what you want with these guys. But at the same time, people love it. It’s a hit.
SIMON: You know, I don’t like these robot umpires coming in for balls and strikes.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: You can appeal the call. Is this destroying some of baseball’s personality?
BRYANT: Yeah. You know, one of the things we always said about loving baseball was that you had the – you know, when the ball goes over the fence, nobody’s looking back for flags. Leave that for football. And now you’ve got this helmet challenge. You tap your helmet and you can – you know, you get a couple challenges. I don’t really love it. I feel like if you’re going to do that, and if you really don’t believe in the faith of the umpires to call the game, then go all the way to the technology the way that tennis does and just have robots do it. But it takes a little bit away from the game for me. I’m not a fan.
SIMON: Yeah. Me neither. Howard Bryant. I am a fan of yours. Thanks so much.
BRYANT: (Laughter) Thank you, Scott.
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