Dr. Sabrina Sawlani

MLB TPA Secretary

Dr. Michael T. Freehill

MLB TPA Member-At-Large

Michael T. Freehill, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of the Shoulder & Elbow Service at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His clinical practice includes all disorders of the shoulder including; rotator cuff and shoulder instability, shoulder arthritis, and complex shoulder pathology. He additionally is passionate about all throwing-related elbow and shoulder injuries. Dr. Freehill graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of San Diego, where he also played college baseball. After graduation, he was drafted as a pitcher by the California Angels, played 7 years of professional baseball with two years on the Major League 40-Man Roster. Following a shoulder surgery, he signed with the Texas Rangers and again reached the Triple-A level. Following his professional baseball career, Dr. Freehill pursued his medical doctorate at Tulane University School of Medicine. During his orthopaedic residency at Johns Hopkins University, he was honored with the Orthopaedic Residency Research Award. He then went on to pursue fellowships in both Sports Medicine from Stanford University and Shoulder and Elbow Surgery from the Harvard University Shoulder Service.

Dr. Freehill spent 4 ½ years at Wake Forest University, where he was named Director of Sports Medicine, head team physician, and was instrumental in initiating the building of the Wake Forest Pitching Lab, before joining the University of Michigan as an Associate Professor where he spent three years and was a team physician for University of Michigan Athletics, head team physician for Eastern Michigan University baseball, and a team physician for the Detroit Tigers. Dr. Freehill has been funded by Major League Baseball to study pitch counts and intensities in youth baseball players, is a member of the Major League Baseball Team Physician Association, and is a member of the Major League Baseball Research Committee. Dr. Freehill has been elected for two prestigious traveling fellowships; the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine to the Pacific Rim-Asia and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons to Europe, and is a Neer Award winning author. He serves as the Associate Editor for Shoulder for the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Dr. Freehill is the Executive Director of the Stanford Baseball Science Core. He serves as a team physician for Stanford Athletics, Head Team Physician for Stanford baseball, and Head Team Physician for the A’s Major League Baseball Team.

Dr. Amy Beacom

MLB TPA President-Elect

Dr. Beacom is originally from Minnesota. There she attended Hamline University for her undergraduate studies, majored in Biology, was a swimmer, and graduated magna cum laude. She attended medical school at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, MN. She completed residency in Emergency Medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis, IN and joined the clinical faculty as an assistant clinical professor for 2 years.  Following this she completed a sports medicine fellowship in San Jose, California working with multiple teams at the collegiate and professional level. Now she is a non-operative sports medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic. Her practice focuses on treatment of the shoulder, knee and hip injuries in atheltes of all ages and ability levels from youth athletes to the professional level. She is currently the head team mecial physiican for the Minnesota Twins Baseball club.  She also is part of the performance network, and a team physician for USA swimming.

Dr. Steven Cohen

MLB TPA Past President

Dr. Cohen is a board certified sports medicine surgeon. He is the head team physician to the Philadelphia Phillies He currently serves as the President of the MLB team physicians association and on the medical advisory board for Major League Baseball.

He is a professor in the department of orthopedic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University and is the director of sports medicine research at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute. He has published and presented research extensively both nationally and internationally and has been an editor of 8 sports medicine books. In 2009, Dr. Cohen was named as a “rising star” by Philadelphia Magazine.

He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, his medical degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed his orthopedic residency at the University of Virginia. He followed with a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, during which he worked closely with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the University of Pittsburgh athletic program.

Dr. Sean Curtin

MLB TPA President

Dr. Curtin is board certified in internal medicine with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in primary care sports medicine. He has been a Team Physician in the Baltimore Orioles organization since 2002 and the Head Team Physician for the Baltimore Orioles since 2018. He also currently serves as a Team Physician for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL and the Washington Capitals in the NHL. He is a member of the MLB Team Physicians Association, the NFL Physicians Society and the NHL Team Physicians Society.

Formerly, he served as Team Physician for the US Lacrosse Women’s National Senior Team from 2010-2017, and as Team Physician for the University of Maryland Terrapins and the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays.

He played baseball as an undergraduate at Villanova University where received a degree in chemical engineering. He later received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine before completing a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in primary care sports medicine, both at the University of Maryland Medical System. He works as a physician in the MedStar Health, Department of Sports Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Robert G. Najarian

MLB TPA Treasurer

Dr. Robert G. Najarian is a board-certified orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon. With additional fellowship training in sports medicine and more than 18 years of experience, he specializes in treating the knee, shoulder, and elbow, as well as all sports-related injuries. His area of focus is in the treatment of knee cartilage and ligamentous injury, shoulder instability and rotator cuff repair, and elbow injuries in the throwing athlete (Tommy John Surgery). He has been named a Washingtonian Top Doctor since 2016. Dr. Najarian is an adjunct orthopedic faculty member for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Georgetown University, and the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Dr. Najarian currently serves as the lead team physician for the Washington Nationals (MLB). He has been with the Washington Nationals organization as a team physician since 2016. He also serves as an assistant team physician for DC United (MLS) and DC Defenders (XFL/UFL). From 2009-2013, he was a team physician for The Ohio State University athletics where he was also an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery. Dr. Najarian also provided care to USA Rugby and the Columbus Clippers, the Triple A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians, and winners of the Governor’s Cup International League Championship in 2010 and 2011.

A native of New York, Dr. Najarian now resides in McLean, Virginia with his wife and three children. In his free time he enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.

Dr. Jeremy Close

MLB TPA  Treasurer

Jeremy D. Close, MD, is board certified in family medicine with added certification in sports medicine. He earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. He also completed his Family Medicine residency and Sports Medicine fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University. He served as Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship and founded Jefferson’s first Division of Sports & Exercise Medicine. Since 2014, Dr. Close has worked with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He has also served on the medical staff of the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia 76ers.

In addition to his regular clinical duties, Dr. Close also co-directs and volunteers with the Athlete Health Organization, delivering free, comprehensive sports physicals to student athletes in underserved communities. He currently lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey with his wife and two children.

Robert Bowers, MD

MLB TPA Member-At-Large

Robert Bowers is a sports medicine physician at Emory in Atlanta, GA. Prior to medicine, Dr Bowers played division 1 college baseball at Furman University and attended graduate school at Auburn University where he received a Master of Education in exercise science and a PhD in exercise physiology/kinesiology. Dr Bowers earned his medical degree at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-Georgia Campus. He completed his residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Emory, where he served as chief resident, and completed a sports medicine fellowship at Emory as well. His current clinical and research interests include baseball medicine and the care of throwing athletes, diagnostic and interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound, and orthobiologics. Specifically, Dr Bowers is interested in neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome and peripheral nerve conditions in throwing athletes and platelet poor plasma treatment for muscle injuries. Dr Bowers is the director of the Emory Baseball Medicine program and serves as a team physician for Georgia Tech Baseball, the Atlanta Braves, and the College Park SkyHawks.

Dr. Craig Milhouse

MLB TPA Member-At-Large

Dr. Milhouse graduated from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1980. He works in Orange, CA and specializes in Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine. Dr. Milhouse is affiliated with St Joseph Hospital Of Orange.

Dr. Nikhil Verma

MLB TPA Past President

Dr. Verma specializes in treatment of the shoulder, elbow and knee with an emphasis on advanced arthroscopic reconstructive techniques of the shoulder, shoulder replacement, knee ligament reconstruction and articular cartilage reconstruction and elbow repair and reconstruction.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Verma completed his orthopedic residency at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in sports medicine and shoulder surgery. While in New York, he served as an assistant team physician for the St. John’s University Athletic Department. He also received specialized training in treatment of shoulder and elbow disorders in the overhead throwing athlete.

Currently, Dr. Verma maintains an active clinical practice performing over 900 procedures per year. He is Director of the Division of Sports Medicine and Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. In addition, he serves as head team physician for the Chicago White Sox and assistant team physician Chicago Bulls. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Verma is actively involved in orthopedic research with interests in basic science, biomechanics and clinical outcomes, and has recently received funding for his work from Major League Baseball. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts in major orthopedic and sports medicine journals, numerous book chapters, and routinely serves as teaching faculty for orthopedic courses on advanced surgical techniques. He frequently serves as an invited speaker or guest surgeon for national and international orthopedic sports medicine meetings.

On the academic front, Dr. Verma serves as Associate Editor of the Arthroscopy Journal, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Knee Surgery. He is a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Shoulder and Elbow Society, Arthroscopy Association of North America, Major League Baseball Team Physician Association, and is a fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has been elected by his peers to “Best Doctors in America” every year since 2007.

Dr. Nikhil Verma was voted among the top 10-15% of Top Doctors in America® by U.S.News & World Report and Castle Connolly. The Top Doctors list is widely regarded as a high-quality reference guide to the medical profession.