Baseball has entered a very scary time when it comes to pitchers and their arms.
We can’t go 24 hours without a pitcher going down with an elbow injury.
Literally as I started this blog Nick Pivetta went on the IL.
Spencer Strider over the weekend.
Shane Bieber last week.
All of them cooked.
So what the hell is going on?
Everyone wants to blame the pitch clock because that’s the latest thing to be implemented that impacts pitching.
Tony Clark issued this statement on behalf of the Players Association in defense of the clock.
The games become more important at the end.
But those arent going to have a direct correlation to better performance.
I dont have the answers.
Along with that, you have this growing emphasis on velocity and spin rate.
It’s everything these days.
When I was a kid throwing 95mph in a big league game was a big deal.
No one knew what the fuck to do with that because we’d never seen it.
Nowadays everyone is trying to push their arms to the limit and it starts at an early age.
By the time guys get to the big leagues their elbows are ticking time bombs.
It’s about determining what’s a red flag in there and what can be managed.
The reason for that is how much harm throwing a baseball consistently 95+ can do to you.
When max effort begins at a young age you are fucked when you reach your 20s.
The trickle down effect has been detrimental.
Another issue at play here is how Manfred fucked with the baseball over the last seven or so years.
The juiced balls were a disaster.
Swing and miss become essential instead of giving up soft contact on well located pitches.
Because everything left the park.
Velo and spin rate became paramount.
I think it’s a sprinkling of all those reasons.
When you start to change all these things and factor in the max effort mentality it dooms your arm.
So what do you do?
Is it taking a closer look at the ball the NPB uses over in Japan?
Do you add seconds to the clock as the season grows on?
Is it attempting to dial back max effort emphasis?
You want guys throwing less hard all of a sudden?
We’re just gonna have guys throw 92 mph now?
Hitters will destroy that slop.
You’re gonna throw more breaking balls?
That will destroy your arm too.
Are we about to be a changeup heavy league?
We may just be fucked and it’s not even mid-April.
