I know we have discussed the increase in pitcher injuries in several threads… This stat is pretty insane…
Over the past 10 years, the average fastball velocity has risen from 93.3 mph to 95.5 during the 2024 regular season. Injury rates have also skyrocketed, with 484 pitchers going on the injured list this year, nearly double the 2014 total.
Now do football
Prob 50 percent…484 pitchers injured is wild though. It almost makes paying elite pitchers a bad investment. Each team averaged 16 pitcher injuries
Not really a surprise.
Start with a repetitive high stress motion on the arm and increase speeds and all kinds of other things and…injuries.
Physics remains undefeated. Probably why apples keep falling on my head.
We are gonna average 16 DEs
I still think the Seaver drop and drive method is the best for high velocity AND durability. Problem is not that many guys are that type of Quadzillas to get to those MPHs that way.
They gotta do something… If it doubles again in 10 years… That’s almost a thousand pitchers
But you get that first TJ and now it’s plus 3-4 MPH on the four seamer.
If my son pitches we’ll do preemptive TJ surgery.
They won’t.
I think it will only get worse as you are seeing the analytic strategies move into college and high school. It’s why I also understood Curious, think it was him, not wanting to sign Skubal to long term deal. Extremely risky but not sure you have a choice.
always
Not that the investment won’t ever pay off. But between injury and sudden loss of effectiveness the gamble is huge. Jordan Zimmerman one of many poster children for this
That preemptive thing has been discussed…
Yea give a star pitcher 300 mill and then start praying… It’s not really if he gets injured…it’s a matter of when.
This is an older article but has several good points in it, only posted the first of 5 or 6
There are likely several factors for this, including heightened awareness, better imaging techniques (MRI), and the fact that more surgeons are trained to perform Tommy John surgeries. However, far and away, the most likely reason is that kids are just flat out throwing too much. Young kids are focusing on one sport instead of playing multiple sports.
MLB players are using paprika-derived nutrient for performance benefits
A decade ago, kids would play a fall sport (football or soccer); hockey or basketball in the winter then baseball in the spring and maybe summer. Now in many cases, kids are playing only baseball year-round. Even in cold weather climates, I see children who are playing on a fall team then going to indoor baseball academies in the winter. Playing year-round is compounded by the fact that the good players often play on multiple teams, go to showcases, etc.
From a biomechanical standpoint, throwing puts excessive stresses across the elbow. Professional baseball players are requiring Tommy John surgery at an alarming rate, so it isn’t surprising that young athletes who are not fully developed and playing year-round, are getting injured (and requiring surgery) more commonly. One recent study showed that there is increased risk of injury in 9-12 year olds who throw more than 600 pitches in a season or more than 75 in one game. It follows that as kids play on multiple teams throughout the year, the chance of hitting that 600 pitch number gets much more likely.
I was kidding of course. And my son is much more so on track to be the guy looking at the computers and creating models for the pitchers to juice their stuff.
I wasn’t. But I gathered you were.
Teacher - What did you get for your 7th birthday Timmy?
Timmy - I got Tommy ■■■■■■■ John surgery. check out these scars 
A lot of pitchers still blow their arm out again and need a 2nd TJ surgery