Shohei Otani

In the major leagues, injuries to ace pitchers have become a hot topic of conversation early in the season.

Last season’s Cy Young Award-winning right-hander, Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, missed the start of the season due to discomfort in his right elbow. After the season opened, it was announced that 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber of the Guardians and Yankees right-hand reliever Jonathan Loaisiga would undergo Tommy John surgery. Braves right-hander Spencer Strider, who won 20 games last season, the most in either league, was also diagnosed with damage to his right elbow ligament, and there are concerns that he may need surgery. Pitcher Framber Valdez (Astros), who has won by double digits for three years in a row, was also placed on injured reserve with elbow inflammation.

The MLB Players Association suspects the cause is the pitch clock, which has been shortened from 20 seconds to 18 seconds when there are runners on base this season. “Despite unanimous player opposition and significant health and safety concerns, the commissioner decided last December to change the pitch clock to 50%, just one season after the most significant rule change in decades. Since then, concerns about the health effects of reduced recovery time have only intensified.The league’s unwillingness to acknowledge or study the impact of this momentous change has meant that the game itself and its most valuable This is an unprecedented threat to our players, who are our greatest asset.”

In response to this, Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who is undergoing rehabilitation from right elbow surgery, also expressed rare concerns. “I think it’s definitely taxing to do a lot of work in a short amount of time, like rest and recovery.” Last year, he used a pitch com and signed almost every pitch he pitched midway through the season. He won’t make it in time if he just shakes his head at the catcher’s signs. This was also a countermeasure to the pitch clock.

Major League Baseball, which led the way in shortening the pitch clock to shorten game time, countered that the pitch clock was not the only cause of the effects on shoulders and elbows. “The increase in elbow surgeries has been a trend for decades and is linked to increases in ball velocity and turnover.” Although he has not directly answered the question of the abnormal increase in injuries among ace pitchers this year, this trend is certain.

The number of innings pitched by starting pitchers is decreasing year by year, and the average ball speed is increasing. In 2013, he ran 94.2 miles (approximately 151.6 km), breaking the 94 mile mark for the first time. In 2013, it was 92.7 miles (149.2 km), so it was 2.4 km faster in 10 years. That means he’s pitching his best in short innings. Ohtani said, “He has to keep throwing his best ball. He doesn’t cut corners, but I think there are very few situations where he throws lightly, even as a starting pitcher.” The level of batters is improving year by year. The crackdown on sticky substances against pitchers has also become stricter. Extreme defensive shifts were also prohibited. Because he pitches long innings, it becomes difficult for him to save his power when not in a pinch or in the lower ranks of the lineup.

If you hit fast balls repeatedly, the strain on your shoulders and elbows will increase. Ohtani also said, “I think there is a strong causal relationship with ball speed.There are some things that can’t be helped, so I think it’s more important to manage it within a single game to avoid injuries.”

There was also a view in the US media that “the pitcher slot is stretched thin.” Up to 13 pitchers can be on the bench, but the argument is that this number should be reduced. If there are fewer pitchers, starting pitchers will inevitably have to pitch long innings. If that happens, the syllogism is that pitchers should avoid pitching at full power all the time. It’s like reverse therapy, which is interesting.

Cole, who has been the president of the players’ association for 10 years, listened to the arguments of both the players’ association and Major League Baseball and gave his opinion, according to Yahoo Sports. “I don’t know the answer, but the answer is that it’s not as black and white as both statements suggest.” And he added: “It’s Rob (Commissioner Manfred)’s job to really care deeply about his players.”

The successive injuries of star pitchers, including Ohtani, are a huge loss to the baseball world. I don’t want people to think that if they break down, they can just have Tommy John surgery (medial collateral ligament reconstruction surgery). Athletes are humans, not machines. Personally, I’m in favor of a pitch clock to shorten game time, but 18 seconds is clearly a short amount of time, whether you’re actually watching a major league game at the stadium or watching it on TV. Pitch clock violations are occurring frequently. I would like MLB to reconsider.[Naoki Saito](Nikkan Sports.com/Baseball column “Naoki Saito’s major stories”)

Major League Baseball pitch clock (taken in 2019)

2024-04-11 02:00:00

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