But is it straight flamethrowers who have the most injuries or pitchers who throw the most hard breaking pitches?
A highly recommended read about this is Jeff Passan's THE ARM. The short version - considering how valuable pitchers are to winning, the industry collectively knows almost nothing about optimizing performance and preservation.
Dizzy Dean had only 6 productive years. He was on the service for about 5 and had a cup of coffee in 1920. Hw had over 1800 strikeouts in the those 6 years. 200/year (more or less)
Did Diz throw hard? As hard as anyone befpre or since!
Dizzy Dean had only 6 productive years. He was on the service for about 5 and had a cup of coffee in 1920. Hw had over 1800 strikeouts in the those 6 years. 200/year (more or less)
Did Diz throw hard? As hard as anyone befpre or since!
Almost certainly not true ... and besides, the average velocity from then to now is no comparison.
I suspect more than one factor has contribured to the increase in pitcher injuries.
I think - essentially - pitching is more physically demanding than it was in the olden days ... (and of course that we know more about injuries - and everything else - generally newswise)