NEW YORK.- The leader of the baseball players union MLB He believes that the decrease in time for pitchers to make their pitches has caused several to get injured.
“Despite unanimous opposition from ballplayers and significant health and safety concerns, last December the Commissioner’s Office shortened the length of the Pitch Clock, just one season after imposing the most significant rule change in decades,” Tony Clark, director of the union, said in a statement.
“Since then, our concerns about the health effects of reduced recovery time have only intensified. “The league’s unwillingness to this day to recognize or study the effects of these profound changes is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable resource: the players.”
Shane Bieber, of Cleveland; Spencer Strider, of Atlanta; the Nicaraguan Jonathan Loaisiga, of the New York Yankees; the dominican Eury Perezof Miami, and Trevor Gott, of Oakland, are among the pitchers who have injured their elbows.
“This statement ignores empirical evidence and a much more significant long-term, multi-decade trend in increases in velocity and spin that are highly correlated with arm injuries,” Major League Baseball said in a statement via which they sought to respond to the union.
They stated that they have undertaken a study into the causes of the increase in injuries. They cited an analysis from Johns Hopkins Hospital, which “found no evidence to support that the implementation of the pitch clock has increased injuries.”
“There is also no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly or who picked up the pace were more likely to suffer injuries,” the statement added.
Cleveland reported Saturday that Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Trophy winner, will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
A few hours later, Atlanta reported that Strider has injured that same tendon and will be further examined by Texas Rangers doctor Keith Meister.
Loaisiga revealed on Saturday that he requires elbow surgery, which will end his campaign by leaving him out of action for 10 to 12 months. The right-hander said he felt a snap in his elbow when he threw a changeup to Venezuelan Jorge Barrosa, his last opponent in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game, a 6-5 road win against Arizona. in 11 innings.
An analysis revealed a rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament.
Hard blow for Miami with Eury Pérez:
Miami reported Thursday that Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the season. A day earlier, Gott underwent the same surgery.
The majors instituted the pitch clock for the 2023 season and set it at 15 seconds when there are no runners on the bases and at 20 when there are.
The average time for a nine-inning game fell to 2 hours and 40 minutes, a reduction of 24 minutes and the shortest duration since 1985. The 11-member competition committee decided in December to shorten the time to 18 seconds with men on base.
And the four players who make up that group opposed it.
Source: AP
