The ongoing pitching injury pandemic has put MLB at loggerheads with the MLBPA. The topic of contention remains the implementation of pitch clocks, which, according to the players, has raised health hazards for pitchers. However, the league has categorically denied this allegation by putting forth independent studies. But while the fight rages on, pitchers are continuing their fall. So now the Los Angeles Dodgers’ legendary ace Clayton Kershaw has questioned this approach.

Kershaw has already said that “nobody knows” what is actually the reason for this spike in injuries. The ace, too, is battling injuries and is about to miss at least half of 2024. As a result, he has demanded changes to better protect the pitchers. According to Kershaw, this surge in injuries could prove to be an existential crisis for baseball if it isn’t solved quickly.

“I just think it’s all silly between the two of them (MLB and MLBPA),” Kershaw said to The Athletic. The ace noted that while the baseball world is filled with speculation, thorough research still hasn’t been done to understand the actual cause of injuries. The three-time Cy Young winner wants the focus to shift from blaming each other to finding a solution to the problem.

That’s something that multiple fans have noted too. Recent times have seen a worrying trend where the number of pitchers undergoing surgeries has skyrocketed. That has led to many experts putting in their two cents on the matter. Everything has been in their crosshairs, from the pitch clock to obsession with velocity.

However, there’s another element that might be the cause of increased injuries to young players: over-exertion. Dr. James Andrews’ opinion has highlighted that issue.

Clayton Kershaw’s old vs new experience and Dr. James Andrews’ hypothesis 

Dr. James Andrews is a big name in sports. He has done operations for the likes of Michael Jordan, Troy Aikman, and Hulk Hogan. As a result, his opinion holds a lot of weight. Andrews noted that he started following injury patterns in 2000. In those days, he did about “eight or nine Tommy Johns per year.” Major league players formed the majority of them, with just a handful of high school kids.

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Andrews noted that the UCL that pitchers need repairing doesn’t mature till age 26. So the young players can throw a maximum of 80 pitches by that age. However, the young pitchers are being forced to pitch much more than that. As a result, now, ‘the largest number is youth baseball’.

Kershaw too alluded to this in his interview. He stated that pitchers cannot go easy nowadays, unlike in the old days. If they do, they’ll be called out of the game “in the third inning.” So could that added pressure be a reason for the present injury disaster? Without proper research, answering that question might not be possible.