Sports Genius - The Tommy John Crisis of 2014 lyrics

All it takes is one pitch. One pitch to feel that pinch in your elbow. One pitch to fear, and to realize, that your season is done. One pitch for the uncertainty of your career's future to set in. Welcome to the Tommy John Crisis of 2014. What is Tommy John surgery? Named after the first player to undergo the procedure, it is medically known as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. The busted ligament in the patient's medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from somewhere else in the body, usually from the wrist or hamstring. Recovery time for pitchers is about one year, which is a vast improvement from the old 18-month d**h sentence. Position players can expect to be back in action about 6 months after the surgery. Why is 2014 Considered a Crisis? At the time of this writing, twelve pitchers have seen their 2014 campaigns prematurely ended by UCL injuries. Some notable names: • Matt Harvey, New York Mets • Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, Atlanta Braves • Jarrod Parker, Oakland Athletics • Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks • Jameson Taillon, Pittsburgh Pirates • Bruce Rondón, Detroit Tigers • Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays What's particularly worrisome about this sudden rush of UCL injuries is that they're afflicting some of baseball's youngest and brightest stars. Six of the aforementioned pitchers are 25 years of age or younger. Matt Harvey, a former seventh overall draft pick, was the National League's starting pitcher in the 2013 All-Star Game. Jarrod Parker nearly set a franchise record for the Athletics with nineteen consecutive starts without a loss, and Patrick Corbin was elected to his first All-Star team in 2013 after posting an 11-1 record before the break. Both Parker and Corbin were expected to make Opening Day starts in 2014 for their respective teams before their injuries. Matt Moore, who signed a five-year contract back in 2011, is one of the Rays' most valuable pitchers, aside from David Price. The injuries to Bruce Rondón and Jameson Taillon are arguably even more concerning because the former has minimal big league experience, while the latter has none. It is impossible to guarantee that any pitcher will recover fully from Tommy John surgery, but that uncertainty is an even tougher pill to swallow when your top pitching prospect is going under the knife before his career has really even begun. There are success stories, as both Adam Wainwright and Stephen Strasburg will tell you. But with the frequency of these UCL injuries, it's time to take a look at what's causing this outbreak and how we can fix it. Innings Pitched and Pitch Counts are probably the biggest factors when it comes to UCL tears. Rarely does the injury occur as the direct result of one pitch, but rather from enduring a heavy workload over a period of time. Young pitchers tend to develop arm troubles when thrown into the big league fire, since their arms have yet to adapt to the rigors of a major league season. In 2013, his second full season, Jarrod Parker pitched 197 innings and threw 2993 pitches. The league leader and veteran, Adam Wainwright, threw 3533 pitches in 241.2 IP. Caution is usually the name of the game when it comes to promising young pitchers, but as you can see... that isn't always the case. In fact, both Innings Pitched and Pitch Counts have become a problem at the college level as well. NC State's Carlos Rodon, widely regarded as the favorite for the #1 overall draft pick in June, threw 134 pitches in a recent game. However, once drafted, college staff aces are usually put on a strict innings limit in their professional debuts to avoid dead arms. This problem has even trickled down into Little League, although the sport's governing body has done an excellent job preserving young arms. Mechanics Even though there are innings limits and monitored pitch counts in Little League, there are still issues with mechanics. Not only are pitchers not being taught a mechanically sound pitching delivery, but they are also encouraged to throw breaking balls at a young age. This is dangerous because their arms are not fully developed to withstand the strain of throwing 12-6 curveballs and nasty sliders. Arm problems frequently develop, and Tommy John surgery can rear its ugly head before the kid even graduates from high school. Lucas Giolito can attest to this. Mechanics are also an issue at the professional level. Mark Prior and Stephen Strasburg both pitched with "inverted W" deliveries instead of "standard W". This put unnecessary strain on their arms (particularly the shoulder and elbow), and created arm problems that led to Tommy John surgery for Strasburg and Prior's eventual retirement. With the alarming increase in season-ending elbow injuries, something needs to be done to keep that number in check. While teams are generally cautious with their young pitchers right out of the gate, they tend to get a little carefree about pitch limits once it becomes clear that a player is something special. Who doesn't want to win, right? Perhaps one solution could be to hold managers and pitching coaches more accountable when it comes to the care and maintenance of their young pitchers. A manager who is constantly running his pitchers into the ground doesn't deserve to be in that position of power. Yes, pitchers will have arm trouble as long as the game of baseball exists to be played, but proper care and mechanics will prevent the sport's future stars from fizzling into oblivion.