While many in the fraternity of players say the pitch clock is to blame for season-ending injuries that Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider and other stars have incurred, team great Greg Maddux believes the problem is far deeper than sped-up games.
Last week, the Braves took a massive hit to their title hopes when it was announced that Strider would be undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. He is sadly one of many talented pitchers who have suffered similar outcomes early in the 2024 season, including Guardians ace Shane Bieber.
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- Greg Maddux stats (Career): 355-227 record, 3.16 ERA, 1.143 WHIP, 3,371 SO, 999 BB
Furthermore, Shohei Ohtani and Jacob deGrom were two of several pitchers who also needed to undergo surgeries to their elbows in 2023, the same year the pitch clock was created. It is why many point to the introduction of it as the cause for the outbreak of injuries, including Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen.
However, Greg Maddux — one of the greatest pitchers in Atlanta Braves and MLB history — sees it a bit differently.
Atlanta Braves legend says the real cause of pitching injuries is the idea of velocity over control
“When I started coaching is when I saw it. I was at UNLV and the guys would rather throw it 95 than get a guy out,” Maddux told Yahoo on Wednesday. “It’s like, ‘C’mon guys, we’re trying to win a baseball game here.’ My brother [Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux] teaches the execution of the pitch more than spin rate, or velocity.
“I am not saying you have to take something off the ball to locate it better, but the focus now on kids at the high school and college level is to see how hard you can throw. When I pitched, we were content that our fastball was our fastball. We never tried to throw it harder but execute it better than the guy you faced,” he added.
The debate on why there has been such a major outbreak of serious pitcher injuries will rage on for the rest of the season, but a league legend suggesting a bigger cause that goes back years is something that should be taken as seriously as adjustments to the pitch clock.
Maddux won 355 games and four straight Cy Young during a 23-year career spent with teams like the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. He often topped out at 91 MPH on his pitches but had legendary control and movement on them.