Steven Strasburg has a very famous elbow and that is all I
am going to say about his elbow, because I do not the particulars and
specifics. Instead lets talk about elbow injuries in baseball in general. It is clear to
me after working on this for many years that it is not about innings pitched,
pitch count, or pitching mechanics. All the comparisons of Strasburg’s
mechanics are just opinion, there is no perfect model or optimum technique.
Despite what my former colleague, Don Cooper, pitching coach of the White Sox,
believes certain pitchers are not susceptible to elbow injuries because they
are upside down. It is highly individual. There are many ways to get the job
done. Are elbow injuries preventable? Honestly I do not know. Over the years
(in my opinion) the common denominator seemed to be when someone changed grip
and certain pitches that put more stress on the elbow. Another commonality that I have seen is that an elbow
injury was usually preceded by a problem at the shoulder (remember the old
kinetic chain). I do believe and will continue to believe until I am proven
wrong that the source of elbow and shoulder problems is the hip. Hip tightness
and weakness. In conclusion I will conclude with a statement from Dr James
Andrews after we had three of pitchers out with elbow injuries, two of whom had
surgery. His statement to me was that sometimes things happen.
2 Comments
Scott Jensen
Do you also believe that most running injuries can be traced to the hip? Or at least, might be preventable by improving hip strength, flexibility and mobility?
Paul Davis
Vern, I have spent considerable time in the world of baseball, as a collegiate player and coach, and have had many conversations and shared analyses of various pitchers with many professional coaches, biomechanists, kinesiologists, etc. and beg to differ with you on this one. Yes, the kinetic chain is of great importance, especially the hip – but not JUST the hip. And we do know, using many of the principles you have written about, that throwing a baseball involves acceleration and deceleration. IMO Strasburg’s problems stem from 3 things:1)poor hip extension, 2) poor mechanics/timing – (what Cooper refers to as “upside down” causes his arm to be “late” at footstrike; to be on time at release he must create tremendous speed, and thus excessive force on shoulder/elbow); 3)poor deceleration (because of poor kinetic chain?) – he stops his arm too quickly after release
I think Strasburg is a good example of the misunderstanding of the type of strength pitchers need. Reports from college tell of a guy who lost weight, became “stronger” and was in great “shape”. But not strong enough or in shape enough to throw a 5 oz. baseball at game effort 90 times every five days without breaking down.
And if things “just happen”, then why are we all wasting our time trying to thoughtfully determine how to help athletes be their best?