Old Pitcher,
I enjoy your posts very much.
There could be many reasons why your son does not experience soreness. I would imagine he has solid mechanics, and good core strength.
However, the fact that a young man can throw lots of pitches without soreness does not mean he will be healthy for ever.
Example, my youngest son never experienced any serious soreness in his arm through youth, high school, college, or 8 yrs of pro ball. He was a relief pitcher the first 8 years of professional baseball and then converted into a starter. He started 3 games in triple A and called up to pitch (start) for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox. He blew out his elbow in that game, but continued to pitch for a few more games. Then TJ surgery! Then after TJ surgery he came back and elbow has been fine, but has had shoulder problems ever since.
This is just another example of the bullet theory (you only have so many of them) Obviously this is not an equal number of bullets for everyone. (Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, etc.) The point is, just because there’s no pain, doesn’t make a pitcher immune to serious problems.
IMO, the major reason for arm injuries are….
Over use (includes many different things)
Lack of recovery time
Lack of conditioning
Bad mechanics
Lack of proper preparation (warm up)
Certain pitches (more dangerous to the arm)
There are other reasons
Those who think pitchers who throw 90+ mph are more likely to have arm injuries are correct. However, it might not be for the reason most think (over throwing). In my mind, it’s because those who throw 90+ mph end up pitching much longer and more often than those who don’t. Coaches tend to use 90+ pitchers as often as possible, especially young 90+ mph pitchers. This obviously makes 90+ mph guys more likely to have arm injury (over use). It’s the reason that the lucky ones who have this velocity need to be handled with common sense. For that matter, even those who don’t throw with that kind of velocity need to be handled using common sense.
Many very good coaches understand, while many other coaches don’t! Guess there could be a game (MLB Play Offs, World Series, etc.) that is so important to win that it might be worth placing a pitcher at risk. IMO, a game that could be that important does NOT exist in youth, high school or college baseball. The best coaches know this. I know we hate it when a pitcher with a great arm and a bright future is abused just to win a high school game.
We have seen parents who are much worse than any coach. Parents who get mad if their son is not in there throwing his 150th pitch of the game to get the win. Parents who think their son should come back and pitch the BIG game the very next day or two after throwing 100 pitches. Putting the above parents together with the wrong kind of coach is a recipe for disaster and it does happen! It would be nice if everyone would get more educated.
IMO, the easiest way to know if someone is over throwing has to do with control. Those who throw (any speed) and can not throw in the zone, are probably over throwing. Some can throw 90 mph strikes at will, others can throw 90 mph and they’re all over the place. Good mechanics and arm action are critical for both good velocity and for good control.
Last point… Scouts can easily pick out the effortless from the max effort guys. Max effort guys are more likely to have less “bullets”. Scouts first watch to see what the pitcher has today and then project/predict what the pitcher will have years down the road. 90 mph max effort, over throwers are not the most appealing.
