Throwing at a superior level is about being “connected”. When a delivery is connected all the body parts are acting in timing and synergy with one another. Every part is playing its proper role and performing in concert with all the other body parts…and those parts are operating around a stable spine.
Coaches at our baseball training camps know that, when you have a soft tissue injury (UCL, labrum, rotor cuff) that doesn’t result in catastrophic failure, it’s very important during the rehab process that you provide controlled stress to organize the healing tissue along the line of resistance.
And here we go again. The long toss and weighted ball police are back at it. The study from 2011 "Max Distance Throwing Changes Mechanics and Puts More Stress On The Arm.” The longstanding argument against long toss is as follows: 1) It increases joint stress in the elbow and the shoulder, and 2) throwing mechanics change with increased distance of throws. Both are true…And that is exactly why I like long toss… as a training tool.
At the Florida Baseball ARMory and in my physical therapy practice, not a week goes by that I don’t see an injured thrower who’s parents report that he had thrown very little prior to getting hurt. “I don’t how this happened,” they say. “He hasn’t pitched very much at all.” Does that sound like a workload problem to you?
The preponderance of the evidence leaves me with only one possible conclusion. Cody Martin is unknockoutable! Way to go Cody! Keep getting back up kid! Keep fighting!
Any time a pitcher complains of pain on the inside of the elbow, you worry about damage to the UCL — the dreaded Tommy John surgery. But sometimes it’s not the Tommy John ligament at all. Here is a rudimentary field test to see if you might have damage to the UCL. It’s called “The milking test.”
As Lance and his mom walked away, I came up with one more penetrating thought: I suck! Ever since that day with Lance and his mom, I have made a pact with myself. I will meet every player exactly where he is physically, mentally, and emotionally and do everything in my power to help him improve himself as ballplayer and a person.
