LAMM AT LARGE: Why do MLB locker rooms look like M.A.S.H. units?

Baseball’s a noncontact sport, right? So why do MLB locker rooms look like M.A.S.H. units?

The season is a month old and there are already enough players, many of them stars, on the disabled list (DL)  to make up several competitive rosters.

The No. 1 position for injuries is, not surprisingly, pitcher. Many simply are asking their arms to do too much. Consider that a decade ago 100 mph pitches were a novelty. Now every team has “flame throwers” who hit 100 regularly. Last season 49 percent of pitchers who appeared in an MLB game spent time on the DL. That’s right. I said 49 percent.

But it isn’t only pitchers. Pulled hamstrings and groins claim a lot of players simply running the bases. Too many players are too muscular for their joints to handle.

And, of course, there’s the money. Owners want to protect the outrageous contracts they hand out. Players want to keep playing and get another one of those huge, long-term deals.

And then there’s the wimp factor, but I’m not going there.