The risks of Tommy John

Really interesting discussion. I guess I never coached to the level that these guys were yanking pitches so hard on the horizontal plane to do that damage. Mostly what we threw I suppose would be considered cutters. Maybe 2 o clock to 8 o clock curves. A change up that was more of a gravity ball than a diving pitch. And obviously 2 and 4 seamers that if thrown right would run in or out

But yeah. Funny you mention or bring this up. Years ago the goal of an off speed pitch was to change pace. And if it moved a bit then great. Off balance.

So at the time I’d say a good fb was 94 and maybe a 2 seam 90-92. Guy could throw a curve with movement in the low 80s and drop 10mph off. Throw a change and he’d take another 10 off. Maybe 70-75.

These idiots now? You see Dustin May? Guys throwing a 100mph 4 seam and he’s got a sinker that runs 95-98? wtf???? Seems super human until the guy had two TJ in 3 years and has enough stitches to last a lifetime before his 24th birthday.

So funny that guy said that because when I started seeing breaking pitches in the 90s one of my first thoughts was “man that can’t be healthy to add that much torque to a ball and still throw it that hard”.

And here we are. No im not a doctor or a pitching genius beyond the low hs level. But i do have some common sense and a very sore right shoulder and elbow from years of throwing BP and some pretty trashy breaking stuff. So I can definitely think through this and come to a painful conclusion

good advice. I was a star pitcher growing up until I gave up baseball to focus on academics. Even tho the leagues I played in limited the number of innings a kid could pitch each week, they were still too many. All I have to do is bend over and reach for something and I can dislocate my pitching shoulder. I never have a problem with my other shoulder.

Problem is, pitching is a direct route to playing in college and possibly the pros, esp in you're left handed. For kids like me who were great at pitching, but average in the field and poor with a bat, you're naturally going to try to pitch. Human nature. You will pay the price down the road, but find your natural arm angle, strengthen your arm as best you can and try to avoid breaking pitches. Sliders and curves cause the most arm injuries bc people don't throw them correctly. Also I wouldn't worry about how hard you throw but focus on hitting your spots with all of your pitches. Painting the black consistently and keeping the ball down will get you a long way if you get a few breaks along the way.

Oh for sure. I am not complaining. I am pointing out that the kids who don't make it back never end up on ESPN or TBS or whatever. There's an assumption that you get it fixed and come back. Lot of them don't

I went to a physical for my pilot's license. Doc had me touch my back with one hand and then the other. He said "you're right handed, arent you?" I was amused, sure. Yeah. "You were a pitcher yes?" Nah, I was not really. I mean, yeah, but no. I have thrown about 20,000 batting practice sessions to my kids over the years and as they've gotten older I have to throw harder, Does that count? He said sure does, you have rotator cuff damage.

WHAT? Wait, no. Not me. He said sure do. See how you can touch to here with your left hand? And you can only touch to here with your right? You've lost range of motion. It's not serious enough for your career or life that I would do surgery, but it's obvious.

I can't say I was surprised, but it was definitely news to me. He passed me on my physical anyway.

Haven't seen this kid since we all said goodbye and went to different HS. Don't miss his dad at all. Expected to see them at the funeral of my travel ball partner but perhaps he was in spring training at the time.

I only go to one doc a year. Should do more. Probably have skin cancer or something from all those coaching days. Anyway. The guy I go to always says "ok, drop trousers, hands on the table" I usually reply with "you could at least put on a blonde wig and offer to buy me dinner" Doesn't miss a beat and says "yeah, heard that before, now don't make this weird"