What causes youth pitching injuries?

Today everybody tells about arm injuries to pitchers. At themajor league level were there less injuries way back when the pitch counts were high and pitchers pitched more innings. I recently heard Robin Roberts on A Phillies broadcast asked how many complete games he had. The answer 309. I just looked up Warren Spahn he had 363. did they do something right at an early age or just freaks of nature. Did they have sore arms or just pitched through it. the numbers are just amazing.

We talk about the number of pitches thrown at the youth level. How many is too many. If for sake of argument you are throwing a lot of pitches and not throwing properly(yes there is a proper way to throw for all positions) I think you are asking for trouble.

Last week someone posted a link for USA about articles on this. Could that person be so kind as to post the link again.

Justbaseball,
Thanks for the info. Interesting thing I found yesterday. I went back to the "srapbook" and found an article from 2002 on wood bat in Jupiter and the names of pitchers who threw 90,91,92, 93 and 94. These players were 2003 and 2004.
Many of the harder throwing pitchers (some college, some minor leagues) have had shoulder and TJ surgery, directly before or after they were signed or in their freshman year.

Will,
I am wondering the same thing. One Ol' Hoss Radbourn had 60 wins and pitched the whole game almost everytime out. Until just recently if yu couldn't go 9 that was a knock on you. I don't know how they did it, but I'd sure like to.

there are some kids in our area that throw in the upper 80's to 90', and are not or were not even juniors in high school, curiuos to see if they sustain this momentum through their careers

Will......a rule of thumb that I have been recommending when doing clinics for youth coaches in our area is something that I have heard from the Detroit Tigers pitching coach Bob Cluck.....has has done lots of youth pitching instruction in the San Diego area, I believe. He says that if you multiply a kid's age by 6 then the result should be his limit for an outing. Example: 12 y.o. pitcher X 6 = 68 pitches.

TPM.....can you be more specific about what you found out about the 2003-2004 pitchers who have had arm problems? Such as: how many pitchers/how many have had surgeries, etc.?

I am curious to know that information! Thanks!

Grateful,
Sent you the info in a pm.

12 X 6 = 72.

quote:

Originally posted by mtownfan:
Will,
I am wondering the same thing. One Ol' Hoss Radbourn had 60 wins and pitched the whole game almost everytime out. Until just recently if yu couldn't go 9 that was a knock on you. I don't know how they did it, but I'd sure like to.

As kids, they played every day from sun up to sundown. They played in an empty lot, they threw the ball up against the house, they just played.

Not many kids do that any more.

haha CADad, thats hilarious.

Pitching injuries are casued by improper teaching and then the kids learn the wrong way and it becomes an unbreakable habit. An example is teaching your players how to throw sidearm but not doing it the proper way.

Redbird 5

Now if it is not organized they do not do it. I went back to my old neighborhood on a mid summer day. Went past the ballfield, empty. Went past the schoolyard where we played stickball from morning till we could not see, empty.

I wish they did play stickball and stuff now. It sounds like lots of fun. I guess I'll have to try to get it started.

Will/Redbird

I am with you---the guys like Roberts, Spahn, Satchel threw and threw but they threw all the time--not necessarily pitching but just throwing every day

The Braves staff throw every day--how many arm problems have they had--very few


The kids today NEVER play catch just for the sake of playing catch

Just a thought .... Maybe arm injuries are up because pitchers throw every pitch at %110!

Ask Kofax (who had to throw every pitch like it was the last out of the world serious)!

There seems to be pressure to throw harder, throw perfect breaking balls etc.

What happend to cruising? That's how these guys could go so long so often.

TRhit- You are absolutely correct about the Braves. None of their pitchers get arm injuries except for Smoltz.

Kids never and I mean never play catch for fun. It seems like some kids on my team don't even like to do it at practice.

i think that getting hurt can come from poor mechanics and throwing breaking balls and other pitches that are very stressful on your elbow at a young age