Is the MLB Pitch Clock Causing More Injuries to Pitchers?
The MLB pitch clock has been the most notable change to America’s Pastime in the 2023 season. It’s been covered extensively, and most people are probably tired of hearing about it. However, is the pitch clock causing more injuries to pitchers?
A recent Baseball Prospectus article by Daniel R. Epstein suggested the pitch clock may be to blame for an uptick in injuries to pitchers. At the 44-day mark, there have been significantly more elbow and shoulder injuries in 2023 than in any other season since 2019.
Of course, it’s not as simple to just blame everything on the pitch clock. There are other factors at play. The Athletic reports that pitch velocity has also increased this year. They say that when applying the pitch clock to the issue of injuries, it’s difficult to prove a causal relationship, although it’s not impossible.
Pitchers such as Chris Bassitt and Kenley Jansen have voiced their opinions on the pitch clock. Trevor May linked the pitch clock to his own IL stint. Of course, there’s always evidence for both sides, but it’s worth noting the number of pitchers who have said something negative about the new rule.
In conclusion, it seems the sample size is too small. However, that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be cause for concern. It isn’t a crazy leap in logic to see how the pitch clock could result in more injuries. Throwing a baseball 90-100 miles per hour is already very strenuous on the arm. Imagine doing it at a much higher frequency. You don’t need a degree in kinesiology to see how that could be a bad thing. It wouldn’t be the first time a rule change resulted in injuries. Tyler Glasnow blew out his UCL after a mid-season change to the foreign substance policy.
Baseball was perfectly fine for 150 years without a pitch clock. All Rob Manfred is doing is trying to appeal to people who wouldn’t be fans of baseball anyway. Let’s just get rid of it, and maybe at the end of the day the pitchers will be safer too.
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