{"id":14741,"date":"2024-05-07T08:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=14741"},"modified":"2024-05-03T14:00:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T18:00:38","slug":"the-doctor-is-in-the-ballpark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2024\/05\/07\/the-doctor-is-in-the-ballpark\/","title":{"rendered":"The Doctor Is In \u2014 the Ballpark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meet the Phillies’ Assistant Physician<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The sweetest memory from Dr. Rob Frederick\u2019s nearly 25 years as the Philadelphia Phillies\u2019 assistant physician occurred during an otherwise forgettable spring training game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When spring training rolls around each winter, Frederick \u201981 spends a week in Clearwater, Fla., providing medical care for the Phillies baseball team. It\u2019s a breezy, restful stretch of catching up before the games really matter. That meant Frederick\u2019s 12-year-old son, Andrew, could work as a batboy during his school holiday. When Ryan Howard, then the Phils\u2019 star slugger, uncorked a home run and high-fived Andrew after Howard rounded the bases, novelty gave way to fatherly pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat <\/em>was better than any World Series or anything else,\u201d says the elder Frederick, who does have a World Series ring courtesy of the Phillies 2008 championship season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He never wears it \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m not a flashy soul.\u201d Frederick\u2019s work as the associate director of sports medicine at Philadelphia\u2019s Rothman Orthopaedics \u2014 which is also the official orthopedic partner of other Philly sports teams \u2014 isn\u2019t all about getting close to the action and the glory. \u201cWith orthopedics, sports is the one field where you\u2019re almost the primary care doctor for the musculoskeletal system,\u201d he says. \u201cI get parents. I get their kids. As the kids grow up, I get their spouses.\u201d He admits that he frequently falls behind on his appointments because he\u2019s catching up with patients. Those relationships, he says, are \u201ca wonderful part\u201d of the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The getting-to-know-you process in Major League Baseball has its share of brushback pitches. Agents and team officials want answers about players\u2019 medical conditions. After all, wins and millions of dollars are at stake. Adaptation is required. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to miss anything,\u201d says Frederick, who constantly reviews medical literature and rehab procedures to guarantee he\u2019s providing the best care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, to Frederick, staying current means nothing if you\u2019re not human. \u201cEach one of my patients is a person,\u201d he says. Players have different stressors that stoke injuries, as well as different personalities. Though Frederick has insight into the athlete\u2019s mindset \u2014 he ran cross country and track and field at Colgate \u2014 that knowledge does not drive his relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to be someone who communicates effectively with patients and family members,\u201d Frederick says, \u201cto have them understand and feel comfortable bringing things to your attention. [This way] you can provide the best possible care and help bring them back to the playing field at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frederick knows Rothman\u2019s status as the healing hands of Philadelphia\u2019s most talented and decorated athletes \u2014 including those at Villanova University (home to a storied men\u2019s basketball team) and the NFL\u2019s Eagles (practically a religion in the sports-crazed city) \u2014 provides a halo effect. There is no point limiting those services to the select, brawny few. Sure, many of the pros have Frederick\u2019s cellphone number, but so does the father of five who tore his ACL in the Thanksgiving Day family football game. And yes, by the way, Rob \u2014 never Dr. Frederick, he hates <\/em>the white coat formality \u2014 will open the office on a Saturday for an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I can make someone\u2019s life a little better, it\u2019s worth it,\u201d Frederick says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Team Physician Dr. Rob Frederick \u201981 keeps the Philadelphia Phillies in top shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1272,"featured_media":14742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[290,2236,68,2235,2233,2234,814,564],"coauthors":[2106],"class_list":["post-14741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alumni-spotlights","category-alumni-updates","tag-baseball","tag-cross-country","tag-health","tag-major-league-baseball","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-sports-medicine","tag-student-athlete","tag-track-and-field"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-3PL","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/IMG_2149-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1272"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14741"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15110,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14741\/revisions\/15110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14741"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}