Report: Channelopathy May Be Rocco Baldelli's Actual Illness

When the Tampa Bay Rays became the darlings of baseball en route to the World Series, the nation discovered who many of them were for the first time. There were many big, media friendly stories on the Rays, but few more inspiring than Rocco Baldelli. A platoon player, Baldelli was out most of the season due to being diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder, causing severe fatigue and a possible life-threatening condition. But now reports are coming out that Baldelli might have been misdiagnosed.

According to reports from Rhode Island news stations, Baldelli went to a clinic in Cleveland in which doctors determined he did not have a mitochondrial disorder. Instead, according to the reports, Baldelli has a channelopathy, which is a type of protein irregularity.

The good news, if this is true, is that channelopathy is far less threatening than mitochondrial disorders. Although channelopathy symptoms can include the likes of cystic fibrosis, they can be very treatable. The report goes on to say that Baldelli has a "highly treatable" channelopathy, which bodes well for him if true.

Channelopathy is a condition which determines the flow of particles like sodium and potassium ions through cell membranes. It is an ion channel dysfunction that can be fatal in some case, and non-progressive in others. If this report is true, Baldelli's case is non-fatal, whereas having a mitochondrial disorder can be more life-threatening.

Baldelli was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder this spring, which kept him from the baseball field much of the season. However, Baldelli was able to return to the Rays and contribute, though he could not be an every day player.

But Baldelli did help the Rays get to the World Series, and even hit a home run in the second half of Game 5 to tie the score before the Phillies came back to clinch. Now, Baldelli is a free agent, with the Rays and several other teams considering signing him.

If Baldelli has a far less serious health problem than first imagined, it can only help his standing in free agency, as teams like the Phillies and Red Sox had already expressed interest.

The report was broken by WLNE-TV in Providence, in a story that was written in all caps by reporter Ken Bell. Aside from that, the report has not been confirmed by bigger news sources, with the Baldelli family credited as the source for WLNE.

Doctors can be wrong in initial diagnoses, but more confirmation will be needed to see if they were wrong for this long about Baldelli. That sort of error almost sounds something more out of an episode of House.

Sources

ABC 6- "Family says doctors misdiagnosed Rocco Baldelli's condition" www.abc6.com/sports/36277274.html

Bluebird Banter- "(I've Been Broken); I've Been Fixed: On Rocco" www.bluebirdbanter.com/2008/12/17/695627/i-ve-been-broken-i-ve-bee