“One of the major risk factors is horizontal ball movement" – Orthopedic surgeon believes focus on lateral pitches has led to rise in UCL injuries
The rising number of UCL injuries across the baseball world has been a major taking point among fans, players and experts this year. There has been an alarming number of elbow injuries not only among the average pitcher but among superstars as well.
Some of the biggest, most notable pitching stars have been sidelined with various elbow injuries, with some requiring surgery to correct their UCL damage. Superstar pitchers like Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians, Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros and Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves have all been shut down in the last week with various elbow injuries.
There have been many theories behind the increase in elbow injuries, with many pointing to the MLB's pitch clock, the increase in pitch velocity and the increased use of specialized pitches as potential sources. The latter is something renowned Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Keith Meister believes could be one of the major culprits.
"Is chasing horizontal movement the primary culprit for the UCL crisis among pitchers? Keith Meister, M.D. of @TMISportsMed weighs in on what's causing the injury epidemic." - @FoulTerritoryTV
“One of the major risk factors is horizontal ball movement," Dr. Keith Meister said on a recent episode of Foul Territory regarding the ongoing UCL issues.
The Texas Rangers team physician explained that the emphasis on lateral movement on pitches has required pitchers to put an extreme amount of grip and cut on throws, which has been causing a number of elbow issues.
Dr. Meister went on to explain that he asked injured pitchers to show what type of grip they use on the ball and can immediately tell the differences in the tears inside the elbow. While he believes that the horizontal movement on pitches has been involved in ongoing injuries to stars like Shane Bieber, he didn'y say that it was the lone cause.
Some around baseball believe that the pitch clock rules have led to the rise in UCL injuries
One of the major talking points surrounding the rise in elbow injuries has been whether or not the implementation of the MLB's pitch clock rule has played a factor. Star pitchers like Gerrit Cole and Shohei Ohtani have not ruled out the fact that it could play a factor.
"New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ripped both Major League Baseball and the MLB players’ association for bickering over the pitch clock last weekend, comparing their behavior to divorced parents." - @MLBONFOX
There's undoubtedly something going on that the MLB and MLBPA need to address sooner rather than later, as the number of elbow injuries continues to rise across baseball.
If the pitch clock is playing a factor, it could take several years for the data for any concrete evidence to come out.