Under The Knife: The All-Star Effect

Baseball Prospectus | Under The Knife: The All-Star Effect: "I spent several hours sifting through UTK columns and injury data over the last seven years, and while this is no scientific study, it appears that the break is nothing special. There's no increased rate of return; in fact, the opposite is true. The arbitrary break often leads teams to bring players back just after the break, artificially extending the days lost. This is just accounting and perception. It also happens at the start of months, returning to a homestand, and more noticeably at the beginning of series, though these obviously happen more often than the other events. The All Star break is nothing more than an artificial construct that we can use to put things in relation to others."