Two young pitchers with nearly unlimited talent are facing the prospect of their seasons ending prematurely because their teams don’t want to take a chance of injury to their arms.
Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox and Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals are so valuable to the future of their respective franchises that ownership for the Sox and Nats are seriously considering severely limiting the number of innings each will pitch this year. With both youngsters on pace to pitch more than 200 innings — a feat neither has come close to in their amateur or pro careers — the concern over whether the wear and tear of throwing a ball close to 100 MPH, 100-120 times a game over 25-30 starts will cause permanent injury to the shoulder/elbow/wrist has forced the front offices of both teams to consider radical options.
Those arms are worth at least a combined half a billion dollars when one considers that Sale, at 23, and Strasburg, at 24, have a good 15 years each of productive work ahead of them — barring major injury. It is not unreasonable to imagine at least two $100 million plus contracts for each during that time. Both players will be free agents in 2017.
The dilemma facing the White Sox and Nationals is historical in nature; pitchers, no matter how good or how durable, are frequently hurt. There are very few major league hurlers who have gone through a career avoiding major injury. Trips to the disabled list are common, as is surgery. The tremendous strain placed on a pitcher’s shoulder by the unnatural motion of throwing the ball overhand threatens the delicate and complex construction of the joint. Rotator cuffs, labrums, muscle tears, and severe inflammation can make it impossible for a pitcher to work effectively and result in long stints on the disabled list or reconstructive surgery.
To avoid that, the Washington Nationals are seriously considering ending Stephen Strasburg’s season after only about 170 innings:
When we signed Stephen I made a promise to him and to his parents that I would take care of him and that’s what we are going to do,” Rizzo said. “I told them we would always do what’s best for him. This is a kid who has never pitched more than 123 innings in a year.
We are looking at not only competing for the playoffs this season, but also in ’13, ’14, ’15 and beyond. Stephen is a big part of those plans and I will not do anything that could potentially harm him down the road.
As for those thinking Strasburg could be given a few weeks or a month off, then return, Rizzo says don’t count on that happening.
“When it happens, Stephen will not pitch again until spring training (in 2013),” he said. “We tried something similar with Zimmermann last year and he just could not get going again. We won’t make the same mistake.
Last year, the Nats shut down their other prized young pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, but at the time, they were out of the playoff hunt. This year, the Nationals are in first place with a legitimate shot at the playoffs. It would be unheard of if the team were to sit Strasburg in September when the stretch run for the playoffs is underway — or have him on the bench if the team makes the postseason.
Rick, you are at your best when writing on more serious topics. Leave the sports-writing to the hagiographers.
This would appear to be a better situation for insurance than buying $9 contraceptives for promiscous women.
Bah! They are just burying their talents in the yard for safety’s sake. They will learn their lesson the hard way… from the competition. The teams that put the bestest talent in play the mostest will win more games.
As far as the injuries go, the glass arms will have the shorter careers as they always have. Bad training and bad managing start early. At least one kid in my 11 year old son’s travel league has had Tommy John surgery after trying to live up to Coach Dad’s dreams of a major league career. In the end, our bodies are just machines on loan. The harder we run them, the more often they will break and the sooner they will wear down. Your Nolan Ryans and Jamie Moyers didn’t need the MLB equivalent of Coach Dad to stretch out their rotations. They owned their pitching, knew their limitations, and mastered their own machines.
Rick, we’ve seen this scene all too often in MLB. Giving a young buck from AA-AAA ball too soon.
My old man being a Chicago native and lifelong Cub fan (no jokes, please!), I recall this being the case for pitcher phenom Kerry Wood.
Kerry’s potential was NEVER realized. Jmo.
The Texas Rangers’ current experiment in going against the grain of current CW on pitchers and innings will be interesting to watch play out over the next few years. Nolan Ryan is a proponent of the idea that pitchers are being nursed too much on the number of innings they’re allowed and wants to stretch things back, so that the starters go longer and don’t put as much strain on the bullpen.
Given his longevity, Ryan has the mound cred to do the testing with a minimal amount of sniping when you get something like the report this week that Neftali Feliz needs Tommy John surgery (and I forget who once said it, but they noted that part of the reason for Ryan’s longevity may have been because as a young pitcher with the Mets, he wasn’t overworked due to the team’s deep rotation in the 1968-70 period before Nolan was dealt to the Angels).
Strasburg has cooled down a bit after his fast start, which may boost the case for the Nats shutting him down early. The fact that the Marlins and Phillies went into fire sale mode in the past week, and the Mets are falling back could also help justify their move, since their only real NL East competition down the stretch may now be the Braves, and with the addition of a second wild card team this year (and the fact that no Washington baseball team has made the playoffs since the first year of FDR’s administration) the Nats have an easier path to the playoffs and a lower marker for a ‘successful’ season than other teams whose fans are used to seeing them in the post-season.