So far this Spring, some 20 Major League pitchers have been side-lined and will undergo "Tommy John surgery", a procedure where a new tendon (from elsewhere on the body) is replaced in the elbow of the throwing arm. It's happening to more younger players than ever before and this is very troubling.
The surgery is named after it's first patient, Tommy John- who was with the Dodgers at the time and is one of the best left handers of all time, compiling 288 wins. He used to pitch for the White Sox too but, I won't hold that against him. Being the first, Dr. Frank Jobe, who did the surgery, figured John had a one in one hundred chance of pitching again. The surgery now is about 90% successful. John was good before the surgery and was good after as well. He pitched until he was 46 years old.
There was a school of thought that the injury made a man's arm stronger because John and others had performed 'better', post-surgery. It's human nature to want to think so. The reality is that after a debilitating injury and the subsequent recovery, the patient likely adopts better conditioning techniques, taking better care of his throwing arm. I have heard that some people, thinking they could throw harder after it have asked doctors to perform it on their sons. It doesn't work that way. They are not creating robo-arms. John "Smokin' Johnny" Smoltz had the surgery and performed well afterwards and was one that I had heard often threw harder. He recently explained it on the MLB Network as a case of him going to the Braves bullpen after his surgery (after having been a starter) and throwing harder only because of his role. Coming out of the bullpen a man can throw as hard as he wants for an inning or two rather than having to pace himself as a starter. Makes sense to me.
So why the epidemic of injuries? Well, there's nothing in the water. It's simply a case of young men, mostly pitchers, throwing too much and not throwing enough. I told you it was simple.
When I was a kid in Little League and Pony league, we were told not to mess around throwing a curve ball until we were 16. That was arbitrary but, fairly good advice. Throwing a baseball as pitchers do is a very unnatural act for an arm. The motion involved whether you are throwing heat or a curve is very hard on the elbow, as well as the shoulder. I've often wondered just how many throws a guy would have in his arm. Consider a man who has been pitching since he was 10/12 years old and the countless pitches thrown in warm-ups and games leading up to his twenties when he would be throwing in the bigs. Now that we are seeing young pitchers in the Major's getting hurt you have to question why now, why so soon? Tommy John was a veteran when he succumbed. It's happening to fellas in the minors now.
Hall of Famer, Jim Katt- another lefty, probably has the answer. Kids today often play baseball year round, in traveling leagues and thus, dedicate their young lives to baseball in hopes of one day playing in the majors. Katt says it's too much. Go out and play another sport, off season. Have an off season. But, throw everyday. Not hard. Just throw. Exercise the arm. Don't punish it with curves and sliders. He threw every day whether it was playing catch or working out off the mound in the bullpen. He never had the surgery (to my knowledge) and his workout regime was probably more common sense than scientific. For years pitchers have been icing down their arms after a start. In Katt's day, there were no pitch counts and guys like him, Fergie Jenkins and Bob Gibson threw hard and finished their games, regularly throwing as many as a 140 or more pitches.
I'll never question a pitch count again. For a lot of starters it's 100 and they are coming out of the game, no matter what. I used to think that was the player's agent talking there, taking care of his investment but, most teams are looking after their investment in the player. Forget the macho bullshit of being old-school and finishing what you started. The bullpen's are stocked with extra arms for a reason. You finishing a game is not as important as finishing your long career
Youth coaches, parents and the boys themselves have got to embrace this. Play for the love of the game and make it a long, loving relationship. You know, a little ping pong never hurt anybody.
3 comments:
Tommy John did see his velocity increase after his surgery from the upper 80's to low 90's. Like you said, it may have been due to factors other than the surgery itself.
As far as pitch counts go, I suspect that teams are getting too rigid on that. For many years, most teams had four man rotations and they often finished what they started and there were no more arm injuries than there are today. I also must question the practice of frequently using four or more pitchers in a game which increases the chances that one of them will have a bad day and singlehandedly negate the solid efforts of all the others. The practice also forces teams to carry extra pitchers and forces many teams to carry only two catchers. Some 50 years ago, one team lost two catchers to injury in the same inning.
It seems like they are rigid about it but not every pitcher is on a count. In a sense, it's always been sort of a count as guys have been pulled after 8 and 2/3rds because they just can't seem to get that last out.
You described every outing by Jeff Samardzjia of the Cubs this season! He might be the only guy to go 0-20 but win the Cy Young with an ERA under a buck fifty! Damn shame but, that's baseball. It's a team sport. Two catchers is plenty. There's always some guy who is either versatile enough or who formerly played the position who can finish the game. After that, there's AAA and a phone call.
I am not too sure about two catchers being plenty. Finishing a game with somebody who only had limited experience in the past is not a good idea unless it is in a mop up role and not a situation where the game is on the line at a critical position such as catcher. I definitely believe in carrying a third catcher who is versatile enough to play other positions. Francisco Cervelli for the Yankees would be such a player as he is a competent catcher who was originally a middle infielder and is a fast runner. I suppose he could play outfield in an emergency where his throwing arm certainly wouldn't be an issue.
Some 15 to 20 years ago, the Yankees had Jim Leyritz who was a marginally adequate catcher who usually played elsewhere when he played.
Many years ago, until he became the Yankee regular catcher after Yogi Berra got too old, Elston Howard played a decent outfield and a good first base in addition to being an outstanding defensive catcher. Howard in 1959 as a part time catcher as well as a replacement outfielder and first baseman played in over three quarters of the team's games and batted .273 with 18 homers in 475 total plate appearances including walks.
Post a Comment