How to Fix the Plethora of TJ Surgeries
It seems like every other day, someone is blowing out their UCL and needing Tommy John Surgery. The Dodgers have had their share – Buehler, Gonsolin, May, Frasso, et al. What can be done to stop this? Can anything be done to stop this? I have been listening to all of the talk…
It seems like every other day, someone is blowing out their UCL and needing Tommy John Surgery. The Dodgers have had their share – Buehler, Gonsolin, May, Frasso, et al. What can be done to stop this? Can anything be done to stop this? I have been listening to all of the talk about this problem for a couple of weeks… and it is a growing problem. However, I do not believe there is just “one thing” that is causing it.
What really could be causing it?
- Everyone throws every pitch with maximum velocity. Whether it’s a fastball at 98 MPH or a slider at 92 MPH, just about every pitcher is throwing every pitch at maximum effort. Is it any wonder pitchers only go five innings… and blow out their arms? Just get them to throw with less velocity! Yeah, that will work. That is not going to change…
- How about a six-day rotation for every team to increase the rest period between starts? – Yeah, Shohei Ohtani was in a six-man rotation his entire time in Anaheim and didn’t avoid Tommy John surgery. It might help… but it’s not the solution.
- How about the time between pitches, which MLB cut back by 2 seconds this year? – I don’t think the extra two second reduction in this year’s pitch clock is going to make much difference. There are a myraid of factors contributing to the surge in arm problems. The pitch clock is one possible factor, but it’s probably being blamed disproportionately due to recency bias.
- How about teaching pitchers how to pitch and not just fall in love with a radar gun? – Yeah, that is gonna work! Come on man!
- Let them use Spider Tack. Now, of all the issues about arm injuries, I think that the banning of Spider Tack and other like substances has contributed to the TJ injuries more than anything. The Athletic said this about it: “Spider Tack represents the logical extreme in an arms race for better spin and nastier movement that has gone, to this point, unchecked by the league. Until a crackdown comes, Spider Tack is still one smear on the artist’s palette that is a pitcher’s glove. Pine tar, a sunscreen-and-rosin mixture and bubble-gum spit are more commonly used, another MLB pitcher said, but Spider Tack is easy to hide and wickedly effective. It’s almost too sticky — it takes WD-40 or baby oil to get it off your fingers. “Spider Tack is there to have on your glove for when you need that slider or heater to really rip,” the pitcher said.“ Additionally, Spider Tack gives a pitcher better control – there is a much lower likelihood that guys will be beaned!
See, when you don’t use Spider Tack, you can still spin the ball as fast and throw it as hard – you just have to exert dramatically more pressure on the baseball, and this comes from the “flexor area” of the forearm. Pitchers will do what they have to do to spin the ball and sometimes (without the Spider Tack) the ball slips out of their fingers and beans the batter. Spider Tack gives better control and the ability to spin the ball without forearm strain and blowing out the UCL.
Of course, this gives the pitcher a huge advantage over the hitter (except for the fact that they get beaned less). So, my proposal is to allow the Spider Tack and then allow the bat to be 25% bigger at the barrel. Tit for tat!
The fact that all of the names going down with UCL injuries this year are prominent guys isn’t helping things, either. Travis Sawchik with The Score recently reported the numbers, and (according to him) there have been fewer Tommy John Surgeries through this point in 2024 than there were in 2021, 2015, and 2014. So it’s not like we’ve never seen injuries on this scale before. It’s just that the ones that are currently occurring are just happening to Shane Bieber, Eury Perez, Lucas, Giolito, Spencer Strider, Sandy Alcantara, et al.
The notion that pitchers can just “go back” to focusing on location and not on filthy, nasty, wicked, high-spin sliders and curve balls and 100 MPH smoking velocity fastballs is not rooted in reality. Hitters today are stronger, in better shape, more talented, and hunting for extra-base hits more than ever before. You don’t see guys going up there and dropping down sacrifice bunts or trying to push weak contact the other way to move a runner up a base. Even if you could guarantee that backing down velo and deemphasizing spin would keep pitchers healthy – which you can’t – it would just keep them healthier while worsening their results, in all likelihood.
It’s the same as when people say hitters need to just go back to slapping the ball the other way and bunting. Yeah… Right! That was sooooo much easier when the average fastball was 6-7 mph slower than it is now and when guys weren’t throwing 92 mph sliders. It’s easy to say “bunt.” It’s damn hard to bunt a 92 MPH slider or a 100 MPH fastball. Fans who say that have no clue. No idea whatsoever! Brett Butler would not be nearly as effective in today’s game.
Bring back the Spider Tack.
Make the barrels of the bats bigger… and
Oh, bring on the Automatic Balls and Strikes Electronic Equipment and retire Angel Hernandez and his Bullshit!
Was there a game last night? I didn’t think so…
Actually, the last time the Dodgers lost on Jackie Robinson Day (2020), they won the World Series. Actually, there were two bright spots: Nick Ramirez and Ricky Vanasco. There is hope for the bullpen, but that Glasnow is a bum! 😉
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Discussion (49)
Disagree, not disagreeable
According to MLB rumors Andy Pages is coming to the show.
Rats are jumping ship mighty early. I see a talented team having some early season struggles. It happens. In 2018, they did not start rolling until July, and then they were trying to catch the Rockies. Also, it should be noted that Glasnow was ill last night and still took his turn. I saw him coughing several times in-between pitches. The team has the assets and ability to get what it needs at the deadline. Right now, it needs Heyward back in the dugout ready to play, which if all goes well should be in a couple of weeks. They also need Taylor to figure out his problems quickly. Outman seems to be seeing the ball better and has hit in a lot of bad luck. Lux just needs a ton of reps. He is a lot better hitter than he has shown. I have no clue what the answer is to all of the injuries. My only theory is that these guys have it in their heads that throwing at max effort is the only way to get hitters out. Greg Maddux would disagree.
Pages called up
Ready to give up on the big club and just follow the minor leagues. They rarely disappoint.
Using Spider Tack will increase movement. A wider barrel could reduce strikeouts, but increase foul balls, which increase pitch count, which will increase stress on the pitcher.
Interesting idea, but will it work?