Where is the MLBPA on medical privacy?

We take medical privacy pretty seriously in America. For instance, we have plenty of laws and regulations on the books to make sure every reasonable precaution is taken to keep your medical records from being accessed or viewed by unauthorized people. Why is this the case? Well, one big reason is to minimize the amount of embarrassing information about you that could be leaked to the public. After all, such information could be used to discriminate against you, making it difficult for you to find a job, a mate, or just plain keep your dignity.

But I guess we can throw out medical privacy when it comes to MLB players. Just take this Yahoo baseball note as an example:

Updating previous reports, Houston Astros 2B Kazuo Matsui (anal fissure) will begin a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi Tuesday, April 8...

Now, if you're like me, the first time I heard Kaz Matsui had an anal fissure I thought, "Whoa, he's not playing on my team!" Then a few moments later I was like, "What's an anal fissure?"

My main point here, though, is that this type of thing happens all the time in Major League Baseball (and professional sports in general). If a pro athlete gets hurt or sick, it's not enough for the team to say, "He will miss two weeks." The fans and media demand to know why.

What really gets me is that if you type "the most powerful union in the world" into Google, the first link that shows up is The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). But if they're so powerful, why can't they keep their players' medical information out of the press? Sure, the MLBPA has historically done a fine job of keeping a lid on steroid and HGH test results, yet everyone knows poor Kaz Matsui has an anal fissure.

Oh well. The good news is that Kaz is on the mend; and he apparently has a good support group in his new hometown: