A restless search for intensity, yes, but pleasure in the moment, too. Love of green tea, good pets, sound medicine. These things define team physician Nancy O'Connor. "To be of use and to be engaged, that's why I came to medicine."
While she practices traditional medicine in her role with the Greens, Nancy also favors less orthodox methods. "Nothing heals like the head," she explains, "even after the bone has been reset or the chips removed or the fluid drained." Some of her methods have irked players used to carving and pills. Nancy will resort to surgery for damaged limbs but only after rest and therapy. "These are conditioned athletes, a select group of bodies. We need to honor those bodies strengths and the mental capacity these players use on the ball field." Still, she will apply freezing spray when a batter gets plunked. "That can hurt."
There have been some objections to a female physician tending to the needs of an all-male ballclub, but O'Connor counters with a maxim from her med school training. "Respecting the whole person, I also know that 'parts is parts.' I will take care of these players as people, but I know my anatomy and well. There's nothing I see in that locker room that I've not seen many times before under more disturbing circumstances."