In our latest guest spot, friend of M&A,”Big Juan” as he’s known at RAB, takes a look at the root causes of pitching injuries in baseball. It’s a really nice read; you should check it out. You can see the original post on his blog, The Yankee Way, here.

Today we heard the news that Alan Horne is out for the year with yet another arm injury. Over at River Avenue Blues, this sparked some discussion about just why Horne can’t stay on the mound. When his conditioning came into question, I realized just how much there is to say about this part of baseball.

Increasingly, we see pitchers go under the knife at some point during their career. In Horne’s case (this time at least), his rotator cuff is torn (about the worst news you can get as a pitcher). However, one of the most common injuries is a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), leading players to need a replacement procedure you’ll surely know as “Tommy John Surgery”. Incredibly, we’ve reached the point that nearly one of nine pitchers in the MLB has undergone the procedure. This leads many of us to ask why — why with all of the medical technology and the advanced training techniques are pitchers getting hurt more and more?

Clearly, one of the main reasons more players are having the surgery is because of just how effective it has become. The success rate for the procedure is around 90% now, with 83% of patients able to resume competing at their previous level. In some cases, pitchers have been known to come back stronger, further emphasizing the faith in the surgery.

But where do the problems stem from? Players train smarter and harder these days, thanks to more research and attention directed at player performance. There are facilities dedicated to getting pitchers in the greatest shape of their lives and some of the stuff they do is mind boggling. Gone are the days of distance running and the heavy lifting. While these aspects of training still have a place, they are more supplemental. Instead, some of the greatest minds in fitness have ushered in a new era of training that relies on medicine balls, bands, kettlebells, resistance machines, chains and so on. Pitchers use these tools primarily in a quick and explosive fashion to help build the fast-twitch muscles that are so important to baseball. Click on this link to see a video of some the training being done at the IMG Baseball Academy (where our very own J.R. Murphy worked out this off season). It’s really cool stuff.

Is it possible that they have it all wrong and this new training is contributing to the problem? Sure — we thought the Earth was flat at one point too. But personally, having had the opportunity to experience the benefits of this type of training, I don’t think this is the case.

Rather, I believe this problem is rooted deep in baseball’s youth. E. Lyle Cain, MD, sees the same pattern:

“The increase in the number of UCL reconstructions being done now can be attributed to many things: improved diagnostic techniques, heightened awareness, increased chance of positive outcome with current surgical techniques, but most importantly, the overuse of young throwing arms,” said Dr. Cain. “In the past 10 years, year-round baseball leagues have proliferated. So the best young pitchers are throwing many more pitches and learning to throw more difficult pitches. It’s great that the surgery is successful, but prevention of the injury should be the goal. Kids should be urged to rest and be careful about saving their arms, rather than leading to long-term problems at a young age.”

Bingo. However, it is not entirely the overuse of young arms (though this is certainly a problem), but the misuse of young arms. In all the paranoia around innings limitations and pitch counts, the baseball community, especially Little League through high school, has lost sight of how to treat a young arm. Consequently, arm injuries are manifesting themselves earlier and more frequently.

Little League has become one of the worst things about baseball. Surely you’ve all turned on the World Series it holds each summer. What do you see? Countless 12 and 13-year-old kids throwing breaking ball after breaking ball. It’s awful what these kids are doing to their arms. At this age, no one should be throwing a curveball. Kids should be using a fastball and a change-up while learning how to locate. If Little League banned curveballs, I’d be willing to bet that over time there would be a decrease in arm injuries.

Another issue is how players throw and how often they throw. As Dr. Cain mentioned, year-round baseball has evolved into a way of life for many young players. If you’re a pitcher, the opportunity is there to throw as many innings as possible every year. But while game experience is certainly essential to development, there are times when kids would be better served just playing catch.

Going outside and throwing is a lost art. Whether it be because players are busy throwing max effort pitches 11 months out of the year or they’re playing The Show on XBox Live, kids just don’t do it enough.

The best way to build arm strength is to throw, a lot. It’s likely you’ve heard of players doing a long toss program to build their arm. It’s also likely that said program comes with restrictions — “x” number of throws until you reach 180 feet then work back in while throwing “on a line” (meaning there is no loop to the throw — instead it is thrown as a line drive even if this means bouncing it to your partner). While this isn’t harming anything, it does restrict the growth of the arm. Think about it, if you throw every day for a certain amount of throws at a certain distance, you’ve built a limit for your arm. This type of throwing does not stretch out the arm and allow it to reach its full capacity.

Rather, long toss should be a day to day thing that does not focus on a specific distance or number of throws. Maybe one day you make 50 throws and reach 200 feet. The next day is 75 and 150 and the third day is 30 and 250. Additionally, throws should be made at different planes and with different grips (this is a great way to teach a changeup). Some throws should be on a line but is also important to air it out. Let the arm dictate what you do and how far you push it. This way, the player will not only learn to be more in touch with their arm, they will acclimate it to making different types of throws. Here is a great article I read awhile back that preaches this method of throwing.

There’s no way of telling what caused Horne’s problems — perhaps it’s just bad fortune. However, I do believe in the things I talked about above. The focus on limits has ruined too many arms to count.

Though he's a starter, Joba is looking to close the deal here

In a response to a New York Post article on Joba Chamberlain and his Spring Training struggles, I simply want to point out the following…………..young pitchers struggle!!!

I have made the point a million times that about 1% (not scientific) of even the most phenom-ic of phenoms dominate the majors from Day 1.  Consider then for a moment that Joba is pitching in the (by far) best division in baseball.  What can we truly expect from Joba through the tender age of 23 with minimal minor league experience?  While there are a ton of young pitchers who struggled early before developing into starts, Jon Lester is the guy I think of most when it comes to Joba.  They were both big time prospects cutting their teeth in the AL East as 22-23 year olds, pitching for the two biggest teams in baseball.  People may forget it now, but Lester struggled before breaking out as a 24 year old in 2008.  What age will Joba be on Opening Day this year?  24.

Not only that, but both were on restricted innings and pitch counts until, again, age 24.  When the training wheels were taken off Lester he flourished, and I think Joba has it in him to do the same.  Before any Yankee fans jump off a bridge with regards to Joba’s performance this Spring (or worse, become B-Jobbers), take a look at the following numbers:

Joba Chamberlin 2009 as a 23 year old in 32 games (31 starts)

4.75 ERA, 157.1 innings, 167 hits, 76 walks, 133 strikeouts

Jon Lester’s first 27 games (26 starts) before turning 24

4.68 ERA, 144 innings, 152 hits, 74 walks, 110 strikeouts

Jon Lester’s Spring Training stats as a 24 year old (as Joba is this year)

6.00 ERA, 12 innings

Jon Lester as a 24 year old (as Joba is this year)

3.21 ERA, 210.1 innings, 202 hits, 66 walks, 152 strikeouts

Am I thrilled with Joba’s early (very early) struggles in Spring Training?  Well no, of course not. Am I concerned?  No, not really.  Take a look again; Lester’s stats pre-24 were almost identical to Joba’s, and then he went to Spring Training that year and continued to struggle.  After that it was breakout city for Lester.  Joba has the talent, the smarts and the stuff to become a right-handed Jon Lester (with more hair).  Will it happen, I truly don’t know, but I do know that it is way too early to display any concern with Joba’s Spring stats as well as Joba’s career stats.  Roy Halladay, at the same age as Joba was in 2009 was pitching to the tune of a 10.64 ERA, and he already had pitched over 150 innings at the big league level prior to that season.  As a Yankee fan, I can only wish that the Blue Jays had been dumb enough to ship him out or ship him to the ‘pen for good.

I am not concerned at all with Joba’s stats, nor am I concerned with diminished velocity from when he was in the bullpen. That is to be expected; much like Phil Hughes’ increased fastball velocity while in the pen was expected. If on April 15th Joba’s throwing 90-91 in regular season starts, I’ll be concerned. Until then, my thoughts on Joba have not changed in the slightest. Patience is a virtue, and patience must be exercised when considering the future of Joba Chamberlain.