MLB Baseball: A Problem With Pitching Injuries

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Do you believe there is a problem in the game of baseball? We are seeing many Tommy John injuries. It comes from pitchers throwing the ball at faster speeds. Many are going to say that is how the game is moving. For example, in football, the running back position is not as important as it was in the past because the league has moved to a passing league. The hardest aspect in sports is hitting a moving ball that moves faster than some of us drive. In the game of baseball, we had the knuckleball era, and some pitchers still use it. The knuckleball has the slow speeds we saw. We know some pitchers can still strike out hitters without throwing the ball at 100mph or more.

Some important pitchers to certain franchises getting hurt and had Tommy John surgery. It hurts the teams for the last year or more. For example, Shane McClanahan for the Tampa Bay Rays, Shane Bieber for the Cleveland Guardians, and Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves. These are just a few of the many that had to have tendon surgery. The surgery started in 1974 on a pitcher named Tommy John. It is to reduce or eliminate pain and to stabilize the range of motion in a person’s elbow. We are seeing that young kids are trying to throw 100mph before their elbows fully develop. It has been said that a person’s elbow does not fully develop until they are 24 and that a little league, high school, or college baseball player could be shortening their career.

We have also seen analytics take over the game of baseball like watching how long a certain pitcher goes. At one time, they would go six or seven innings before being taken out. It looks like they only go about five or just two times through the order before the bullpens start to get ready. Many have said that it is the pitch clock that has caused some of these injuries. I have had a chance to talk to coaches and analysts who said they do not believe that is the problem. According to USA Today, there have been 38 of these injuries in the last 15 or so months. This is also why Shohei Ohtani is not pitching this year because he injured his elbow pitching in 2023.

It is time for us to return to the same pitching style of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. Maddux pitched from 1986 to 2008 and his stats look impossible today. From 1998 to 2001 he averaged 200 innings a season. His teammate and fellow Hall of Famer John Smoltz has criticized the evolution of pitching. The way of love and the devotion to velocity have led to a stratospheric rise in arm injuries in young baseball players. Just like it has been mentioned earlier seeing a pitcher reach 100 pitches in a game has become few and far between. Maddux did not throw 100mph but he was able to throw in the 90’s and locate his pitches.

Maybe it is time for the game to teach young and upcoming baseball players to locate pitches. This will cut down on these injuries on young players in hopes they can have longer careers in baseball. I know that is not a promise that if they focus on location they will not get hurt. Fans will probably not agree with changing or going back to Maddux’s form of pitching because they might find it boring. We all tune in to our local sports highlights to see which the next pitcher is to hit 100mph on the speed gun.

What is your opinion on this topic should we go back or stay on the same path when it comes to pitching? Leave a comment below.

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