Quick way to land on DL? Try a Showcase

Great stuff, a must read for pitchers and parents of pitchers.

Thanks for posting.

If you get a 2nd opinion, make sure if it wasn't done on the first mri that you get an arthrogram where they shoot dye in the elbow for a much detailed view of the elbow. Sometimes on smaller tears a regular mri won't pick up.

Anybody stop to think that the kids who attend showcases tend to throw harder than the kids who don't? Anybody then stop to think that the kids who throw harder also tend to throw more innings during their seasons?

Higher velocities and more innings seems to be a lot stronger correlation than what is usually a pretty limited number of pitches at a showcase.

I don't think anyone has come anywhere close to showing that participating in showcases is a cause of arm injuries. On the other hand there are some pretty influential people making that leap who should know better.

Good points by CADad. According to Dr.Andrews and ASMI, throwing more than 80 mph doubles your risk of injury. Pitching more than 8 months a year raises your risk by 500%. Pitching while fatigued raises your risk by 3600% (not a typo).

Andrews wrote an article several years ago in which he was down on showcases. Not sure if it's still there, but it was on the USA Baseball site. He mentioned guys "throwing to the gun" as a concern. However, I haven't heard much from him on the issue in recent years. I suspect that he probably considers overuse a much greater danger.

Mark B is right about getting a contrast MRI of the elbow. (May not be worthwhile for the shoulder). They may make exceptions, but Andrews' group generally will not see you for an elbow injury unless you've had the contrast.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
Anybody stop to think that the kids who attend showcases tend to throw harder than the kids who don't? Anybody then stop to think that the kids who throw harder also tend to throw more innings during their seasons?

Higher velocities and more innings seems to be a lot stronger correlation than what is usually a pretty limited number of pitches at a showcase.

I don't think anyone has come anywhere close to showing that participating in showcases is a cause of arm injuries. On the other hand there are some pretty influential people making that leap who should know better.

quote:

Originally posted by MTH:
Mark B is right about getting a contrast MRI of the elbow. (May not be worthwhile for the shoulder). They may make exceptions, but Andrews' group generally will not see you for an elbow injury unless you've had the contrast.

This also goes for the shoulder - oftentimes the shoulder MRI is completely worthless w/o arthrogram. Arthrogram is different than a simple contrast, too. It is literally impossible to see a labrum tear without arthrogram and this is one of the most common pitcher's injuries.

quote:

On the other hand there are some pretty influential people making that leap who should know better.

Overuse is overuse is overuse.

Another article that talks about overuse (or in his words abuse).

http://www.mikereinold.com/201...tching-injuries.html

But baseball knows best; not the specialists...

I agree that overuse is the main cause. The case for doing showcases leading to injury is not the real story. True it is that there are quite a few showcases in the off season or in many cases a showcase overlaps regular season play and kids just throw too much in too frequent a time period. But the real cause is generally the player and parents themselves pushing too hard without either proper conditioning or just too much use in a short period. Most know what showcases or camps they will attend months in advance. It is thus up to them to get themselves in shape and/or rested for those events. The few camps and showcases that we have attended we have been very careful in the weeks heading into an event to properly prepare including telling coaches in advance so that they were are also aware. Showcases themselves are ran by the directors to showcase athletes who want to "showcase" their best abilities. That means that those scouts, recruiters, coaches are going to an event to see the players athletic ability and skill set. It is wholly up to those attending to be in their best possible shape. It is also up to the participants to know how much to throw and when enough is enough.

3600%! Wow. I've got a feeling that throwing 7 or more innings in a HS game is harder on the arm than throwing a couple innings in a showcase with a limited number of batters per inning.

I will admit I've seen pitchers throw more than a couple innings and get at least close to fatigued in a showcase situation but I've seen far, far worse in HS games.

How about a kid with a history of UCL problems throwing almost nothing but sliders for 3 innings, then coming back the next day and doing it again, then warming up to throw the next day? Guess who was calling the pitches? Not the catcher, not the pitcher. All during a nearly meaningless spring tournament. His arm was dust by the end of his senior season. He never attended a showcase other than a scout ball tryout that I know of.