We’ve seen an uptick in elbow injuries to pitchers in recent years, and this year there were 132 pitchers on the injured list on opening day. Last year, over 34% of pitchers to appear in a game had the dreaded Tommy John surgery at some point in their pasts, and that number is rising each year.
The trend we’re seeing is frightening, and many players and fans are pointing to the newly-implemented pitch clock as the culprit. Others blame the crack-down on tacky substances on the mound. However, I believe there is a much bigger problem at hand: the obsession with speed.
Pitchers today are throwing harder and harder at much younger ages. Instead of focusing on control and throwing strikes, we’re starting to teach kids how to throw as hard as they possibly can. They’re trying to maximize speed and spin before the body has a chance to develop.
High-schoolers are routinely having Tommy John surgery to repair torn UCLs, yet they’re being encouraged to have 4+ pitches in their arsenals at high speeds. We’ve seen facilities such as Driveline add 10-20 miles per hour to fastballs and 5-10 inches of break to sliders.
Little leagues 10-20 years ago did not allow kids to throw breaking balls, and for good reason. The ulnar collateral ligament does not fully develop in a human male until about 26 years old. You cannot repeatedly put the stress of a high-velocity breaking ball on an underdeveloped ligament and not expect a negative outcome.
This all isn’t to say that there aren’t other factors at play. I believe the changes implemented in baseball over the last three years came very suddenly, and modern pitchers have not adjusted to them.
The pitch clock is one of these major changes, and has honestly made baseball games more enjoyable to watch. However, the human arm is not designed to snap forward at 90-100 mph every 15 seconds. MLB isn’t changing this rule, so it’s time for an adjustment.
I challenge you to go on YouTube and watch a game from the 1986 World Series. There was no clock, but pitchers were only taking 10 or so seconds between pitches. There were only 2 pitchers who underwent Tommy John surgery that year. It’s been proven possible to throw at a high volume over a short period of time.
Another change across baseball has been the emphasis on “sticky stuff” checks for pitchers. According to Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, this crackdown is forcing pitchers to grip the ball tighter and is leading to injuries. I do believe this to be a factor, and would love to see MLB approve a substance for pitchers to have more control of the ball.
Out of these factors, the importance of velocity in todays game is the biggest. In terms of training, players today seem to be focused on strength over flexibility.
We all love watching pitchers throw gas, but there’s nothing worse than losing one of your favorite players for over a year (take it from me, a big Jacob deGrom fan). There needs to be a change, and it has to start from an early level.
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