To first understand why pitchers get injured so often we must first understand what it is. Pitching is a motion done by a pitcher. A pitcher is a position on the baseball field that pitches the ball, the goal and job of the pitcher is to get the batter out. Either by giving them three strikes and retiring them that way, or the batter makes contact with the ball and a fielder fields the ball, either by catching a fly ball, or fielding a ground ball and throwing it to first, and obviously there are a lot of other ways a batter can get on base.
Now that we have the basics down, we now have to explain the science behind pitching. To throw a fastball like the pros we have to use this principle called Elastic potential energy. When throwing a fastball professionals, the shoulder twist back bout 180 degrees which is much more than the average human. The big problem with this and the reason for many pitching injuries is that after the pitcher releases the ball his arm is trying to come of of his arm, to prevent this the pitchers shoulder muscles the harder you throw the ball the higher chance you have of injuring yourself, and as a product of throwing so hard can cause injuries such as torn rotator cuffs, and with many players now being able to above 100 mph there is a much higher percentage of injured players, and according to the mlb website the average pitch speed was 93.8 in 2021 and 94 in 2022. Also according the the mlb website in 2021 195 pitchers were injured.
Another famous injury for pitchers is when their Ulnar Collateral ligament tears and has to be replaced this is commonly called “Tommy John” surgery, which is what all pitchers dread. The UCL tears because too much weight is put on the ligament and it goes boom.
Though these injuries may be scary there are ways to avoid them. Firsty you want to have a lot of rest in between starts. In the mlb there is a 5 game gap between starts. Two you should work on your flexibility of your arm, if your arm can’t rotate all the way you shouldn’t try until you can, and finally strengthen your forearms, if your forearms are strong it will help support and protect your UCL.
Injuries are a very big part of a baseball career, it can hinder how good you get in the long run, how good you can be, and if you can even play baseball again. Then again with the need for pitchers to throw harder and harder there is no doubt why pitchers get injured so often.
Related Stories
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mlb-pitching-injuries/
https://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/55614/are-pitchers-getting-hurt-more-often
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