Let’s talk about pitching injuries
Considering the rate at which pitchers of all ages are tearing their ulnar collateral ligaments, it’s a hot topic these days. Let me give you a quick personal background. I pitched professionally for one season (and wrote a book about it, for which I built this site. Read an excerpt here!), and ultimately retired due to an injured shoulder, the details of which I cover in my book, but suffice it to say it was a breakdown in my kinetic chain which started with my knee and led to my shoulder issue. It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve been a pitching instructor and coach for over 11 years, working with hundreds of pitchers.
During my playing days, I trained and worked on everything I could to keep my arm healthy: I ate right, got proper rest, and was never overused. I worked with several pitching coaches with MLB experience as a kid, and they all approved of my mechanics and I was a high percentage strike thrower. Through my injury experience, I learned just how vulnerable a pitcher’s arm is, and how one break in the kinetic chain (my knee) can lead to a breakdown at another high-stress point, namely a pitcher’s shoulder or elbow.
Having gone through many thousands of hours of physical therapy for various injuries and surgeries over the years, I have also immersed myself in the worlds of kinesiology, strength, mobility, and balance, in order to keep my body functioning as well as it can given all the replacement parts I now carry.
I am not a certified trainer or health professional, but based on my history I know a few things about pitching injuries and best practices for avoiding them. Which is all fine and good, except for one thing. Every kid I have worked with in the past few months has said the same thing when asked what their primary objective is while working with me.
“I really want to throw harder.”
Taken at face value that statement isn’t anything new. Every pitcher that ever lived has wanted a few more MPH on their fastball. The difference from then to now is this: We didn’t have the specific knowledge and data then that we do now to truly understand kinesiology, and the strength, speed, and force required for a pitcher to throw in the upper 90’s. We used to think that a major part of it was a pitcher’s natural ability—what they were born with. Sure, we knew that you could increase your velocity by doing lots of work in the weight room, refining mechanics, and staying limber, but we didn’t have the blueprint to throw 95+ that kids do now. And it’s all right there on Youtube. And with the advent of advanced statistical analysis and systems like Rapsodo (starting cost $3500 plus subscription fees), and PitchLogic (starting cost $250 with optional upgrades available) which feed dozens of data points on each pitch, which for young kids, isn’t helpful if they don't have the fundamentals down pat. I am not against these systems, but I fear their overuse and reliance on the data rather than a young pitcher’s capabilities to pitch effectively is detrimental to their development. When kids today say, “I really want to throw harder,” they mean it, because they don’t want to face being the guy with the slowest fastball or least vertical or horizontal movement. I employ a PitchLogic baseball in some of my lessons, but only with certain pitchers during certain lessons. And before I ever break it out one thing is essential.
They must know how to pitch.
Once they have sound, repeatable mechanics, proper timing of the kinetic chain, and free and easy arm action, then we work on individual pitches without PitchLogic. When they have started to demonstrate the ability to throw two or three different pitches well, then we break out the PitchLogic ball. Even then, we’re really using it to refine small things and fine-tune pitches even more, much like all the pitchers have been doing in their work at Driveline.
When I played in high school and college, the common wisdom regarding pitching injuries, be they shoulder or elbow, was a matter of if one or the other would give out on you. In the last 10-15 years this has changed, and now it’s more a matter of when for many pitchers who only see the 90+ formula as they way to the next level. The evidence is all over baseball, with the number of young kids requiring Tommy John surgery climbing steadily each year, and it’s the same at the pro level. Pedro Martinez did a segment on MLB TV about it, opining that the main reason for the increase in UCL tears is that young pitchers simply have not strengthened their ligaments enough to withstand the shearing force they’re putting on their arms, particularly the elbow. Couple that high-octane output with poor mechanics, and you can see the stress put on the elbow.
Back to Tyler Glasnow for a second. Do we really think that he tore his UCL because MLB took away his ability to use his preferred rosin/sunscreen mix? Please. It’s because he has been throwing max-effort pitches for sufficient enough time to shear his UCL. For reference, read this post on Driveline Baseball’s site which breaks down what causes UCL tears. I also read a scientific study a couple of months ago that found a correlation between the amount of max-effort fastballs thrown and UCL tears—the higher the number, the greater the likelihood of suffering a UCL tear. For so long we thought that the cause in young pitchers was attributed to curveballs and sliders, but if you stay on top of the science, that doesn’t seem to be the case, provided that they are throwing those pitches correctly, and with proper mechanics.
“Single pitches do not rupture ligaments and cause elbow injuries and Tommy John surgery – the UCL is torn microscopically over time in a flawed pitching delivery. Let’s please dispel this notion that a single pitch thrown incorrectly caused the injury.” -Driveline Baseball
Where does this leave us when it comes to keeping young pitchers’ arms healthy and intact? The primary starting point is ensuring that they learn proper throwing mechanics. I see kids in their late teens who have major flaws in their mechanics, yet they can reach over 80 MPH because they’re strong and quick enough to accelerate the arm, but I often find several breakdowns in the kinetic chain. These types of pitchers are putting high strain on their UCL, and often their shoulders too.
By incorporating slow-motion video, we can gain immediate visual evidence of what they are doing mechanically. Then we can work through the movements of the mechanics and perform drills that help reinforce proper movement patterns. It sounds easy, but most pitchers will revert back to old habits many times, so we often give cues to each pitcher to help them feel when they’re mechanically “off” and help get them back to good form. When they get into using efficient mechanics, suddenly their arm feels more free and easy, and as if a lot of strain has been taken off. Because it has.
Getting them in the gym and on a training program is also essential. I quiz every pitcher I work with about their training habits, and I offer to help them plan a routine that will help them gain the proper strength, range of motion, and endurance for pitching. When sound mechanics meets proper training, you start to see their pitches having a little more action, and they start to have greater body control, leading to an increase in strike %. When we start seeing consistency, only then do we break out the ball to get some data and really start working on pitch design and refinement.
I’ll be covering more about this and related topics in future posts. If you have any questions feel free to message me on my Facebook page or DM me on Instagram.
Aroldis Chapman — a fine example of excellent mechanics and proper training. He can still touch 100 and he hasn’t had any major arm issues in his lengthy career.
