I could see a reason for most everything ever mentioned having an impact on TJ surgery increase.
It is interesting that nearly everyone talks about improving mechanics. When my son had TJ, they strongly recommended a change in mechanics. The change to a more traditional style lowered his peak velocity. He became a different type of pitcher. Guess you could say it worked because he made it back to the Big Leagues. However, soon after he blew out his shoulder.
Those that aren't taught/instructed throw the baseball based on what their body and arm are telling them. They make adjustments almost automatically simply be feeling things. For most this is what could be called their natural delivery or throwing motion. In the old days many pitchers threw like that throughout long careers. Long before that they hunted with rocks. How fast and how accurate you could throw the rock, the better you ate. Nobody cared HOW you threw it, if it was fast and accurate, you were good!
Now days, when a very good arm is discovered, there seem to be a large number of "professional instructors" willing to improve that pitchers mechanics. Often this becomes the cookie cutter approach we talk about. Every pitcher basically mirroring the others.
I've always had a problem with that. Do we think taught ability is better than natural talent? I understand that can be the case with some. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know each individual is different. Every finger, arm, body, is different on every pitcher. So how can there be only one way to throw a baseball? Your best way, might not work best for me.
I always use Bob Feller as an example. He learned to pitch out behind the barn, throwing the ball the way his mind and body told him he could best throw it. In most ways he pitched that same style to the Hall of Fame. If Bob Feller had grown up now days, I wonder what might have happened. Would someone have changed his mechanics? Well seeing that nobody these days has Bob Fellers exact delivery, I guess he would have changed, too.
I really believe that in some ways we are actually taking some natural ability away from talented players in the interest of improving their mechanics. I think the very best instructors try to preserve the natural and tweek things mechanically, rather than change everything.
I agree completely. I believe as well that the velo these kids are throwing now also plays a big part. I saw a study that showed the TJ's went up as the velo's went up. when I finished HS I was the only pitcher in my part of the state that threw over 90, my son graduates this year and we have 3 in our small city. we need a dozen 88mph pitchers to make it big and remove some of the love of velo.