Why is it that with all the modern training exercises and strict adherences to pitch counts, more pitchers are ending up on the DL than ever? It’s just a guess on my part, but it might be because with so much emphasis on what shows up on the radar gun, there’s more throwing hard going on than real pitching (which is more about location and messing with a batter’s timing than simply blowing your heater past someone). Pitchers used to save their best fastballs for certain situations…now it’s about bringing it all the time. An arm only has so much in it.
I saw a comment, of the record of course, by a scout that said looking at the x-rays of potential draftees is scary – the amount of wear as a group. He thinks it is the year round playing of baseball that is doing it. Kids should play other sports, most won’t even make a scholarship in college! He also thinks you will see a shift to drafting kids from northern climates vs. warmer climates because of less opportunity to play. It will be interesting to see how this plays out…..
I’ve heard that it has to do with year round pitching as well as kids trying to throw sliders and curveballs younger. Supposedly that leads to bad mechanics. Empirically, I would say that the year round pitching can’t be helping. Since that is a much more recent thing as is the TJ plague.
Livelier balls and bats and smaller ballparks probably also feed pitchers’ tendencies to over-throw, to try to even things out. If the late great Dan Quisenberry were still around, he’d probably be writing witty poems urging all pitchers to become submariners, which is a motion much easier on the throwing arm!
Guilty Bystander almost 10 years ago
Why is it that with all the modern training exercises and strict adherences to pitch counts, more pitchers are ending up on the DL than ever? It’s just a guess on my part, but it might be because with so much emphasis on what shows up on the radar gun, there’s more throwing hard going on than real pitching (which is more about location and messing with a batter’s timing than simply blowing your heater past someone). Pitchers used to save their best fastballs for certain situations…now it’s about bringing it all the time. An arm only has so much in it.
amxchester almost 10 years ago
I saw a comment, of the record of course, by a scout that said looking at the x-rays of potential draftees is scary – the amount of wear as a group. He thinks it is the year round playing of baseball that is doing it. Kids should play other sports, most won’t even make a scholarship in college! He also thinks you will see a shift to drafting kids from northern climates vs. warmer climates because of less opportunity to play. It will be interesting to see how this plays out…..
Cordicfan almost 10 years ago
All they have to do is lower the pitcher’s mound back to what it was in the 60s. Less pressure on the arm.and elbow.
johnnydoc5 almost 10 years ago
I’ve heard that it has to do with year round pitching as well as kids trying to throw sliders and curveballs younger. Supposedly that leads to bad mechanics. Empirically, I would say that the year round pitching can’t be helping. Since that is a much more recent thing as is the TJ plague.
Godfreydaniel almost 10 years ago
Livelier balls and bats and smaller ballparks probably also feed pitchers’ tendencies to over-throw, to try to even things out. If the late great Dan Quisenberry were still around, he’d probably be writing witty poems urging all pitchers to become submariners, which is a motion much easier on the throwing arm!