kmb717 said:Jtilley said:kmb717 said:Wolfpokes92 said:
But pitch count doesn't matter!
They pretty much don't. Pitchers get hurt. Especially high velocity, slider heavy ones. Anyone blaming the staff just wants to be mad.
Eh not sure I agree with that. Yes throwing hard and throwing more breaking balls is harder on the arm but even worse when you're doing it 110 times a game.
There's a reason no major league pitcher throws over 100 pitches anymore. Big time investment with high risk low reward.
Hope he bounces back and I hope he had some kind of insurance policy because he just lost a lot of money. Blame who you want but I'm sure he will look back on it and say he probably should have done it differently.
And even with those pitch counts, dozens of major leaguers get Tommy John every year. I'd be shocked if Skenes doesn't tear his UCL within the next 5 years regardless of what the Pirates do with him.
A lot of it is cumulative. You have ten year olds playing 60-80 games which is way too much. Good players play that much or more every year up until they go to college. Again too much baseball. You have kids throwing breaking balls at a very early age which puts additional stress on the arm. In my opinion they shouldn't even attempt a curve ball until 14-15 years old and then very limited. During that time they are growing and their arms are not developed to handle more strain. Now they are throwing sliders earlier and earlier because it's a devastating pitch when thrown right. It's also very devastating on the arm, but here we are.
Nolan Ryan was throwing 100 mph when he was in his mid 40's. I don't believe he ever messed with a slider. Clemens was throwing upper 90's his whole career but did not mess with the slider but instead had the split finger. Greg Maddux knew how to pitch with location and change of speed. No particular arm problems that I am aware of. The whole system is designed for power arms and power pitches, and unfortunately that leads to arm problems and lots of TJ surgeries.
I feel bad for Jacob. He is not the only one it has happened to and there will be many more until the system changes. Unfortunately for a lot of young kids, their well being is not a top priority.
There is my rant and yes I am old, but there was a time when pitching was an art and not just a power play.
