Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikex5
On the Score Sports radio 670 on Wednesday, May 14th, Tommy John was on. He said that many of the top surgeons in the country believe that young kids throwing all season play the biggest role in guys having the surgery. He also blames parents. Many parents believe that having the surgery will give their kids more velocity. With more velocity, they will get big $$$ from the Majors. John said it is a false belief. The surgery corrects a defect in the elbow. It does not add to the speed of your pitches. But many athletes are getting the surgery even when they don't need it. John also believes PED's play a role in the increase in the number of surgeries. PED's allow the muscles to heal quicker. They do not allow ligiments to heal quicker, nor do they give strength to the ligiment. John believes a guy is given only so much ability.
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While I don't know if kids throwing more is a cause or not, but I think it's obvious the increase in success rate of this surgery can make players more aggressive.
Teams, players, and parents definitely should all feel safer than the past, when they consider the chance of blowing out an arm. Even if still not perfect, we do know the surgery is getting better returns than in the past. There are also players who came back better than they were before surgery.
Many people might be too risk-seeking these days.