Managing the Team Behind the Team: What the Best Sports Medicine Departments Do Differently
How do you keep an elite medical staff focused, dialed in, and performing at their absolute highest level across a 162-game season? Instead of focusing on treating players directly, today’s guest instead invests in making the clinicians around him better.
In this episode, Corey Tremble, Director of Medical Operations for the Miami Marlins, joins hosts Andrew Rizza and Dr. Cameron Roth to discuss what it takes to build a high-performing sports medicine team inside a Major League Baseball organization.
Drawing on his extensive background working under legendary sports medicine mentors and alongside major front-office figures like Gabe Kapler, Tremble breaks down how the Marlins have revolutionized performance nutrition and why the mental health component of return-to-play is so overlooked. He also dives into the modern velocity epidemic driving new UCL tear patterns, what he prioritizes when scouting new sports medicine talent, and his work as the chair of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Cannabis Task Force to build a science-backed educational framework for pain management.
MEET THE GUEST
Corey Tremble, DAT, LAT, ATC
- Director of Medical Operations, Miami Marlins
- Chair, National Athletic Trainers' Association Cannabis Task Force
TOPICS DISCUSSED
- Building collaborative sports medicine departments that improve athlete outcomes
- The evolution of Tommy John surgery and UCL tear patterns
- Preventing burnout while leading high-performance medical teams
- Building a best-in-class nutrition program in professional baseball
- Bridging the education gap around cannabinoids and athlete pain management
- Destigmatizing delegation and managing staff burnout
- The future of AI, wearables, and workload management in baseball
HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 – Introduction
00:58 – Role of Director of Medical Operations for Miami Marlins
02:23 – Keeping Staff Focused over a 162-Game Season
04:28 – Sponsor: Beck Bode | Boston Orthopedics and Wellness
06:00 – Establishing Collaborative Decision Making
09:08 – Communicating with Coaches During Rehabilitation
11:04 – Successful Return to Play and the Mental Health Component
16:29 – MRI Use and Clinical Judgment
19:02 – The Shift in UCL Tear Patterns and Tommy John Surgery
24:34 – How Modern Pitching Is Changing Elbow Injuries
28:12 – Thoughts on Shohei Ohtani
30:06 – Nutrition as a Competitive Advantage
34:21 – Technology, Lab Testing & Objective Return-to-Play Metrics
36:06 – Hiring Great Athletic Trainers
39:14 – The NATA Cannabis Task Force and Educating Athletes
44:10 – Managing Burnout and Delegation
48:07 – Where Sports Medicine and Baseball Are Headed
51:59 – Lightning Round: Travel, Squats & Sleep
QUOTES:
03:33 - “My goal is to take my unbelievably gifted, intelligent physical therapists and athletic trainers and give them the spotlight, give them the ability to really hone in on what they believe is really important, really give them the opportunity to have a voice and have a vision of what we should do as a department. And that's really what has, in turn, created a better space for our athletes to get better.”
46:44 - “It's the mark of bad leadership when you think that you have to do it all. And again, you feel guilty at the start of delegating and asking others on your team to do things that you could very easily do, but that's how they're going to grow.”
LINKS
Corey S. Tremble on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/trembleatc/
Miami Marlins Official Website – https://www.mlb.com/marlins
National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) – https://www.nata.org
PBATS Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@pbats
RELATED EPISODES
The Surgeon Who Saved Sports - Meet Dr. Andrews - https://youtu.be/tkvI56ZiabA
SPONSORS
- Beck Bode is a fee-only fiduciary firm that builds personalized roadmaps to keep your money aligned with your life goals. See what real planning looks like at https://beckbode.com
- Boston Orthopedics and Wellness helps you recover faster, move better, and perform at your best with advanced orthopedic and wellness care. Get 15% off your first visit: https://www.bostonorthopedicandwellness.com/
DISCLAIMER
The opinions presented on Behind the Sports Medicine are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any affiliated institutions or partners. The content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a licensed medical professional before making any health or treatment decisions. Behind the Sports Medicine and its affiliates assume no liability for the accuracy or application of the information discussed.
#SportsMedicine #AthleticTraining #BaseballMedicine #MLBHealth #MiamiMarlins
