The Injury Bug

A lot of teams have suffered from injuries early this spring. During the 162+ game season, injuries are going to happen, that's just a fact. But I was watching MLB Network last night and they were marveling at the increased number of Tommy John surgeries required. Just this year, Matt Harvey, Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen (2nd in 3 years), and now Bruce Rondon are missing 2014 because of the injury. As of 2013, 124 players went under the knife to end their season, and that total is increasing quickly. 

In short, Tommy John surgery is bad news. It's baseball's equivalent to a torn ACL, except in a player's (99% of the time its a pitcher) forearm. The UCL, ulnar collateral ligament, basically acts as the hinge between the upper and lower arm and snaps quickly during a pitcher's windup. If a player has a particularly violent delivery (like Rondon), throws 98-99 MPH, or doesn't take care of himself, they are highly susceptible to tearing said ligament. The procedure takes a ligament from the patient's body and replaces the torn elbow one. The arm then must be set for a long period of time, which sidelines pitchers for the season; they can't throw full speed for 8-10 months after the operation.

Dr. Frank Jobe, the medical mastermind who first performed this surgery on Dodgers pitcher Tommy John in 1974, says its overuse that leads to this type of surgery. With Harvey, that definitely could be true; in only his second year in the league, he pitched 178.1 innings - not a lot by MLB standards but for a rookie, that's a hefty load. Medlen threw 197 innings in 2013, second most on the Braves staff to Mike Minor's 204, but Medlen didn't even come close to cracking the Top 10 in innings pitched. So it may come as a bit of a mystery.

But I have a theory.

I'm no doctor, that is for sure. If anything happens to me, I ice it and call it good. In fact, I iced my face last week when I had a cold. Needless to say, it didn't work, but I still have a theory: the Little League World Series. 

There is so much competition and pressure on the little tikes in the LLWS that the pitchers have developed nasty offspeed pitches to gain an advantage on hitters, as if throwing 72 MPH from 45 feet isn't a big enough of an advantage. And not just knuckle balls and changeups that don't really inhibit the growth of a young arm, but nasty 12-6 curves and sweeping sliders that knock the young guys off their feet. I'll tell you what, that is not healthy. Sure some of these kids are bigger than I am and have 6 raw eggs for breakfast, but their bodies are not completely developed yet. When I played little league, there was an absolute stud on our team. He was 12 years old and over 6 feet, a switch hitter, and threw 65+. I caught back then so I knew full well how hard he could throw. His dad knew his potential but was adamant on one thing: no curveballs. This kid, Matt Conway, now plays for Wake Forest and is a pretty sick player. Again, I am no doctor and have no idea if there is a correlation or causation between young arms and Tommy John surgery, but it's a thought. 

These young kids will do anything to win the LL World Series, including endangering their future arms by developing a curve. Just Google Little League and curveball and you'll see tons of kids with the same grip and arm angles as the pros. This Bleacher Report article shares a similar opinion. 

So kids, drink your milk and develop a changeup, not a curve. And always have a good attitude: Joba Chamberlain, the Tigers reliever, got a smiley face tattooed on his scar after his surgery in 2011: 

While we're on the injury topic, say a prayer for Aroldis Chapman as he recovers from nasty line drive come-backer. 

Thanks for reading.