Tommy John, the National Leagues’ winningest pitcher, chills his elbow in ice after learning he may face surgery for the second time in two years and had been placed on the 21-day disabled list.
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The number of forearm, elbow, and shoulder injuries experienced by professional pitchers is beyond frightening.
And, of course, arm related injuries are also a drastic occurrence in high school, and amateur baseball.
The most common pitcher injury response the public hears about is “Tommy John” surgery.
As indicated clearly by The Conversation, (which states its purpose is “Academic rigor, journalistic flair) ”Tommy John surgery is more common than ever-especially for young athletes.
As The Conversation stated in 2024, “50-years ago, Tommy John underwent elbow reconstruction surgery that has changed the treatment landscape of elbow related pitching injuries.”
The ulnar collateral ligament, or UCL, is a band of fibrous tissue connecting the humerus in the upper arm and the ulna in the forearm on the inside of the elbow.
Without the ligament, there is no gap between the two bones.
Tommy John had his ground-breaking elbow surgery in the fall of 1974.
Hall of Fame Dodgers lefty Sandy Koufax retired in 1966 because he was experiencing severe elbow pain. There was no known surgery at the time to get Koufax back on the mound.
Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon and Los Angeles Dodgers Team Physician who pioneered elbow ligament replacement and shoulder surgery for baseball players – a procedure known as the Tommy John surgery, named for former Dodgers Pitcher Tommy John, August 1, 1997 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
Getty Images
Noted surgeon Frank Jobe performed the surgery on Tommy John, but has stated that had he developed his revolutionary elbow surgery sooner, Koufax may have been back pitching.
Since Tommy John had his elbow surgery, in 2024 it was estimated that 2,500 professional players have undergone “Tommy John” surgery.
The vast, vast majority have been pitchers. Several pitchers, have had multiple Tommy John operations.
Statistics indicate an increase of about 9% each year for Tommy John surgery..
New Amateur Pitching Guidelines:
A recent ESPN article stated the following:
Major League Baseball is banning team officials from watching amateur players or collecting data on them for a months-long period over the winter, warning executives that “the amateur baseball calendar is putting young players at dramatic risk of future injury,” according to a memo obtained by ESPN.
For this old scout, that ban makes great sense for amateur players.
While it will be tough to enforce, it is a step in the right direction.
What about professional pitchers?
LA QUINTA, CA – APRIL 28: Tommy John, the 4 time All Star Major League Baseball pitcher who won 288 games, shows the famous scar on his elbow in La Quinta, CA on April 28, 2018. John and his son Tommy John III, a chiropractor with a sports medicine background, are trying to put an end to kids getting Tommy John surgery, the elbow operation that saved John’s pitching career and now bears his name. In 1974, when he was 31, John had already pitched 12 years in the major leagues when Dr. Frank Jobe performed the landmark ulnar collateral ligament elbow surgery. He went on to pitch 14 more years and never missed a start. His message now is simple: Dont cut on kids. Kids, the Johns say, are being pressured into overperforming, causing degenerative joint problems. They are overstimulated, less aware, overcoached, and underdeveloped. (Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Professional Pitchers:
It just make sense that there are more pitching injuries because pitchers are throwing fastballs at a much higher velocity than years past.
It is not uncommon for a team to have several pitchers capable of throwing pitches 100+ miles per hour.
Add in the stress created by throwing curveballs, changeups, sliders, and split-fingered pitches, and the number of potential arm related injuries multiplies.
Pitchers are bigger, stronger, and more athletic in general than those of the 1950’s era.
The human anatomy is not built to withstand the impact of throwing a baseball thousands and thousands of times in a pitcher’s lifetime.
Without question, Major League Baseball has rewarded pitchers financially for strikeouts, and the ability to dispatch hitters with stress related pitches.
After thinking about the growing number of professional pitchers impacted by arm related injuries, this writer has created several ideas to help curb the massive number of forearm, elbow, and shoulder related pitching injuries.
Ideas To Reduce Pitcher Injuries:
While these recommendations are drastic in nature, something drastic must be done to keep pitchers healthy.
Here are some ideas:
-Increase the size of minor league pitching staffs by two additional pitchers
-Increase the size of major league pitching staffs by two additional pitchers
-Limit the number of pitches any professional pitcher can throw in a game to 80
-Do not allow a professional pitcher to throw on consecutive days
Drastic? Yes.
But frankly, Commissioner Rob Manfred has tinkered with the game in many ways to increase scoring, and reduce the time of a baseball game.
The ideas this scout suggests could make a marked difference in the health of pitchers.
Something must be done to reduce pitcher injuries.
Increasing the number of pitchers will help. Reducing the number of pitches thrown in a game will help. And not throwing on consecutive days will help.
If it takes adding more than two pitchers to the staff, fine.
Major League Baseball must act to curb the number of pitching injuries.
Something has to be done to help pitchers stay healthy.
The time is now.