This weekend, MLB Network will be airing a roundtable discussion focusing on injuries to pitchers in baseball. The roundtable will air at 4 PM on Saturday and again at 8 PM on Sunday, and will feature Bob Costas moderating the panel, which includes Dr. David Altcheck, Tom House, Jim Kaat, Tom Verducci, and John Smoltz. The program also contains a one-on-one interview between Costas and Dr. James Andrews, the man whose name is most closely tied to Tommy John surgery.
The discussion itself is one that needed to happen with the onrush of elbow injuries among MLB pitchers in recent years. And the panel doesn’t fail to disappoint with their discussion, bringing up numerous factors that may be causing the rise in injuries, including year-round youth baseball, improper training, overconfidence in the Tommy John procedure, and extreme caution by teams in light of multimillion dollar contracts being handed out to numerous players across baseball.
The production of the discussion is very well done. When unfamiliar people or terms are brought up, an info box pops up on the screen giving a brief explanation of what’s being mentioned (including growth plates, something I have heard mentioned for years by never really understood). Each member of the panel is given ample amounts of time to talk, and the discussion never devolves into mindless bickering about a minor point. For the truckloads of people that hate Costas, have no fear – he’s simply there to spur the conversation onward, and isn’t interjecting his point of view every other minute.
I like how MLB isn’t ignoring this issue. While elbow injuries are nowhere near as serious as concussions, MLB isn’t running away from the problem like the NFL is with concussions. All of the members of the panel (with the possible exception of Verducci, who isn’t a doctor, coach, or former player, but is tapped into the modern game) are well-qualified to talk about the rash of elbow injuries, and they offer insight that you really can’t get anywhere else, especially in one convenient discussion.
In summary, if you’re a baseball fan who is curious, concerned, or simply clueless and looking for more information about MLB’s jump in elbow injuries, I’d recommend that you watch this panel. It’s enlightening.
