Examining Differences in Movement Competency in Professional Baseball Players Born in the United States and Dominican Republic

Context: Dominican Republic (DR) players have different training norms, which can affect their resiliency and performance. The variance among DR players' training regimens may be influenced by the degree of training incorporating fundamental movement patterns. Objective: To examine differences in fundamental movement patterns in United States (US)-born versus DR-born professional baseball players. Design: Cross-sectional cohort. Setting: Professional baseball athletic training room. Participants: One hundred forty-two players (76 DR-born and 66 US-born) who were recently selected by a Major League Baseball team. Intervention: Subjects completed the Functional Movement Screen using the standardized 7 movement tests and the 3 isolated clearing tests. Main Outcome Measures: The primary variables studied were composite score, left and right asymmetry, and individual movement standard scores. Two-way chi-squared analysis was utilized for the statistical analysis with statistical significance being identified at P <.05. Results: DR players had a larger number of 1s (7.8% vs 3.0%) and 3s (10.5% vs 1.5%) on the right-sided hurdle step and a greater percentage of 3s (82.8% vs 60.6%) on right-sided shoulder mobility. US players had a larger percentage of 3s (33.3% vs 13.4%) and a lower percentage of 1s (2.2% vs 15.1%) on the active straight leg raise and a greater percentage of passable scores (>= 2; 99.5% vs 65.8%) on the trunk stability push-up. Conclusion: This study suggests that fundamental movement competency differs between US-and DR-born professional baseball players. Based on these movement competency differences, a player's country of origin may be taken into account to create an effective training program.