It’s no secret that just about every team in Major League Baseball has a pitcher that is going under the knife for the infamous Tommy John surgery. So what did the guy who’s name stems from the surgery have to say about it?
According to Yahoo Sports, Tommy John says…
I think what these kids do in youth baseball can lead to Tommy John surgery…If you have your kid’s best interests at heart, let them play another sport. Play baseball up until September. Then go play football, play soccer, play lacrosse, play basketball. Do something else and let your arm rest. And then start it up again in the spring.
Tommy John had 26 years in MLB (courtesy sportingnews.com)
According to baseball-reference.com, Tommy John surgery is performed when a ligament in the pitching elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body.
This year’s list has grown not in quantity, but quality as well.
Oakland A’s pitcher’s A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker recently went under the knife as well as Diamondbacks’ starter Patrick Corbin. And as recently as last week, one of the pitcher’s baseball fans were excited to watch in 2014, Jose Fernandez, had to undergo the UCL surgery.
Jarrod Parker courtesy Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports
However, this isn’t the end of baseball, check out this article by Huffington Post. It lists players who have not only come back from Tommy John surgery, but have come back better than ever.
Should you stop your kids from playing baseball? Absolutely not. The best interest is whatever your child wants to do. If that’s baseball, then go for it. If it’s being a small girl with big hair who writes about America’s Favorite Pastime, then go for it.
Tommy John surgery is a part of baseball, and it will always be.
Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports