Greg Maddux says the pitch clock is not to blame for injuries to Spencer Strider and other star pitchers, velocity over control starting in high school is the problem
April 18, 2024
Greg Maddux says the pitch clock is not to blame for injuries to Spencer Strider and other star pitchers, velocity over control starting in high school is the problem
32 comments
Reddit told me it was the uniforms 🙄
What a nerd
Silly greg, just ask spencer! It was the noise in the stadium that caused this!
Bingo
Yep
He’s not wrong
Yeah I was thinking about him and Beurhle the other day. Beurhle was so amazing… one time he pitched a game in less than 2 hours. If pitching quick is to blame, how did he have such insane longevity? His velocity was never much above 90… that’s how.
Cole looking like the Arthur clenched fist meme rn
I was told at a young age I wasn’t allowed to throw breaking balls till I was at 90ft bases.
I don’t think breaking balls are talked about enough and the impact they can have on young undeveloped arms.
Coaches are teaching pitchers at such a young age how to throw breaking balls, and it takes precedence over control and strategy.
Exactly what Verlander said. They learned how to pitch first, then velocity came later. Its velocity now and figure out actual pitching later because thats what gets you noticed.
He’s absolutely right
Considering how hard and how deep Nolan Ryan used to pitch and for a long career all while games were much faster paced, it seems technique and pitch selection maybe to blame. NESN mentioned how TJ surgery isn’t uncommon for HS or college now. Seems like we’re pushing too hard too early and they arrive in the majors with serious problems already.
Oh sure, as if Maddux knows anything about pitching control/location
/s
Thank you Greg! Common sense prevails.
So sayeth the Lord.
Thanks Greg, for saying the quiet part out loud.
Man if I didn’t long toss curveballs during high school my arm would still be intact
Frankly, if Maddux said it about pitching, I believe it. The man was the most amazing pitcher. I believe!
Maddux is 💯 correct! And not because he was a location maestro—the best to ever pitch IMO— but because he knows wth he is talking about. His former teammates Glavine and especially Smoltz have said the same.
Hell, most in the MLB or the media that covers it will tell you — have more than a 5-minute convo with John Smoltz about baseball, especially pitching, and you’ll hear his dogmatic opinions on pushing players/pitchers early on and throughout about velocity—he absolutely hates it!
Coming from one of the best power-pitchers in MLB history, that holds a lot of credibility.
Can’t believe something so blatantly obvious has to be pointed out like it’s a revelation. The way these kids are taught to pitch is totally fucked and should honestly be considered coaching malpractice.
Yup!!!!
Exactly. If you can hit the glove 7 times out of 10, you will succeed.
Maddux is one of the goats for a reason
Yeah I’m gonna trust the most durable pitcher of my lifetime on this one.
Maddux had a very different conditioning approach and in season maintenance routine than people use today.
I do think he has a point. And I think we’re close to peak velocity, and beyond what most people can safely throw. Tendons and ligaments can only handle so much stress over a lifetime, they don’t build like muscle.
But it’s also possible that the pitch clock bears some weight. And it’s also possible that it’s the excessive work load in the offseason, and it’s also possible that it’s the spin rate chasing due to the grips required.
The change will not come due to injury rates. There’s always someone younger and 80% as good ready to take the next turn. There’s always new fodder for the mill. The change will involve teams backing off from heat and emphasizing control and deception. And keeping the hitters from elevating the ball.
MLB hasn’t legislated a pitch since the spitball was legion. And that was for batter safety. But pitchers have moved away from screwballs for a generation or two because of injury concerns. Sticky stuff was a game balance issue, but banning it might have increased injury potential.
It’s a multifaceted issue, with lots of potential causes.
Oh yeah, what does he know? He’s just…*looks at notes*…one of the best and most durable pitchers to ever throw a ball?
I remember seeing his banner hanging from my high school gymnasium.
Vikings, baby.
Interesting that people think today’s pitchers don’t know how to pitch. We just had a season with historically low batting averages and high strikeouts. But then people will say that’s because today’s hitters don’t know how to hit. They just swing for the fences. Pitchers are taught to throw hard because it works, and because there’s a deeper supply of pitchers today. They’re more expendable.
I’m not disagreeing with Maddux. He’s right, although to what extent we can’t know unless we experiment with a group of pitchers who are willing not dial back speed through high school But it’s just this ”if they’d just learn to pitch, change speeds, hit their spot, master more than one pitch, etc.” Most MLB pitchers do all that. They just happen to throw harder than ever, and it’s rough on the body.
Yeah, I never understood the argument that the pitch clock is causing injuries. Especially like many have pointed out, that pitchers used to pitch at a merely identical pace prior to the ’80s and ’90s.
Maddux speaking facts.
I watch a lot of hometown high school basketball and I still say that, if I could start all over again, I would spend days, nights, weekends, summers, perfecting 12 foot pull-up jumpers and you could make an absolute killing off of it in todays game. haha
32 comments
Reddit told me it was the uniforms 🙄
What a nerd
Silly greg, just ask spencer! It was the noise in the stadium that caused this!
Bingo
Yep
He’s not wrong
Yeah I was thinking about him and Beurhle the other day. Beurhle was so amazing… one time he pitched a game in less than 2 hours. If pitching quick is to blame, how did he have such insane longevity? His velocity was never much above 90… that’s how.
Cole looking like the Arthur clenched fist meme rn
I was told at a young age I wasn’t allowed to throw breaking balls till I was at 90ft bases.
I don’t think breaking balls are talked about enough and the impact they can have on young undeveloped arms.
Coaches are teaching pitchers at such a young age how to throw breaking balls, and it takes precedence over control and strategy.
Exactly what Verlander said. They learned how to pitch first, then velocity came later. Its velocity now and figure out actual pitching later because thats what gets you noticed.
He’s absolutely right
Considering how hard and how deep Nolan Ryan used to pitch and for a long career all while games were much faster paced, it seems technique and pitch selection maybe to blame. NESN mentioned how TJ surgery isn’t uncommon for HS or college now. Seems like we’re pushing too hard too early and they arrive in the majors with serious problems already.
Oh sure, as if Maddux knows anything about pitching control/location
/s
Thank you Greg! Common sense prevails.
So sayeth the Lord.
Thanks Greg, for saying the quiet part out loud.
Man if I didn’t long toss curveballs during high school my arm would still be intact
Frankly, if Maddux said it about pitching, I believe it. The man was the most amazing pitcher. I believe!
Maddux is 💯 correct! And not because he was a location maestro—the best to ever pitch IMO— but because he knows wth he is talking about. His former teammates Glavine and especially Smoltz have said the same.
Hell, most in the MLB or the media that covers it will tell you — have more than a 5-minute convo with John Smoltz about baseball, especially pitching, and you’ll hear his dogmatic opinions on pushing players/pitchers early on and throughout about velocity—he absolutely hates it!
Coming from one of the best power-pitchers in MLB history, that holds a lot of credibility.
Can’t believe something so blatantly obvious has to be pointed out like it’s a revelation. The way these kids are taught to pitch is totally fucked and should honestly be considered coaching malpractice.
Yup!!!!
Exactly. If you can hit the glove 7 times out of 10, you will succeed.
Maddux is one of the goats for a reason
Yeah I’m gonna trust the most durable pitcher of my lifetime on this one.
Maddux had a very different conditioning approach and in season maintenance routine than people use today.
I do think he has a point. And I think we’re close to peak velocity, and beyond what most people can safely throw. Tendons and ligaments can only handle so much stress over a lifetime, they don’t build like muscle.
But it’s also possible that the pitch clock bears some weight. And it’s also possible that it’s the excessive work load in the offseason, and it’s also possible that it’s the spin rate chasing due to the grips required.
The change will not come due to injury rates. There’s always someone younger and 80% as good ready to take the next turn. There’s always new fodder for the mill. The change will involve teams backing off from heat and emphasizing control and deception. And keeping the hitters from elevating the ball.
MLB hasn’t legislated a pitch since the spitball was legion. And that was for batter safety. But pitchers have moved away from screwballs for a generation or two because of injury concerns. Sticky stuff was a game balance issue, but banning it might have increased injury potential.
It’s a multifaceted issue, with lots of potential causes.
Oh yeah, what does he know? He’s just…*looks at notes*…one of the best and most durable pitchers to ever throw a ball?
I remember seeing his banner hanging from my high school gymnasium.
Vikings, baby.
Interesting that people think today’s pitchers don’t know how to pitch. We just had a season with historically low batting averages and high strikeouts. But then people will say that’s because today’s hitters don’t know how to hit. They just swing for the fences. Pitchers are taught to throw hard because it works, and because there’s a deeper supply of pitchers today. They’re more expendable.
I’m not disagreeing with Maddux. He’s right, although to what extent we can’t know unless we experiment with a group of pitchers who are willing not dial back speed through high school But it’s just this ”if they’d just learn to pitch, change speeds, hit their spot, master more than one pitch, etc.” Most MLB pitchers do all that. They just happen to throw harder than ever, and it’s rough on the body.
Yeah, I never understood the argument that the pitch clock is causing injuries. Especially like many have pointed out, that pitchers used to pitch at a merely identical pace prior to the ’80s and ’90s.
Maddux speaking facts.
I watch a lot of hometown high school basketball and I still say that, if I could start all over again, I would spend days, nights, weekends, summers, perfecting 12 foot pull-up jumpers and you could make an absolute killing off of it in todays game. haha
Tale as old as high school baseball