“I would turn the radar guns off" - 3x World Series champion Al Leiter sheds light on increasing pitcher injuries
The recent hike in pitcher injuries has affected most MLB teams as they are missing out on their star pitchers due to injuries.
These injuries are recently among the most discussed topics. There is a lot of speculation over the root cause of the rise in pitcher injuries. Some feel that the reduced pitch clock rule is to be blamed for these injuries. Meanwhile, others suppose players pressurizing themselves to improve their pitch's velocity makes them more injury-prone.
Some also believe that players being over-dependent on analytics can be the key factor behind this rise in pitcher injuries. In a recent interview, former World Series champion and Mets HOFer Al Leiter gave his take on the increase in pitcher injuries.
"I would do if I could, I would turn the radar guns off," the ex-MLB pitcher said. "I would see how that feels and looks. I think we have too many people in the game because they never played they rely on the computer."
"And they should write if they never really played. The metrics and the analytics and all the TrackMan data, which is really good stuff. But this is what I lean on, as opposed to the eyeballs looking and seeing. "
Truly, this rise in injuries has caused league-wide trauma. Players like Spencer Strider will miss the 2024 season due to season-ending surgeries. MLB should work on finding a solution to this problem quickly.
Justin Verlander reflects on the rise in pitcher injuries
Astros Justin Verlander has recently made his season debut for the club following an injury scar. During his rehab assignments at the beginning of this month, the veteran pitcher was asked about his opinion on the rise in pitcher injuries.
Verlander was a victim of the rise in pitcher injuries. However, he didn't feel the new reduced pitch clock rule was the only reason for that.
"I think the game has changed a lot," Verlander said, "it would be easiest to blame the pitch clock, in reality everything has a little bit of influence. The biggest thing is the style of pitching has changed so much. Everyone is throwing as hard as they possibly can and spinning the ball as hard as they possibly can."
The 41-year-old also mentioned this problem as a 'double-edged' sword and that he had no answer to it. Apart from Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Lucas Giolito, Spencer Strider, etc. are among the many who have faced this problem this season.