Pitcher's release point and arm slot.....injury related?

[23jordan]

Hey guys does anyone know how a pitcher's release point/arm slot effects the chance of getting shoulder/elbow problems?

When reading scouting reports, more often than not, it sems the lower the arm slot/angle the greater a chance for injury to a shoulder or elbow. Would I be correct in that assumption?

[Phil in Upstate NY]

It isn't so much the arm slot that causes injury as they types of pitches.

Anybody throwing overhand is putting a tremendous toll on their arm. That's why softball pitchers can throw virtually every day, even if they can get up into the 80s or 90s. It's a natural movement. Baseball pitchers are really taxing the joints -in fact, a pitcher's arm literally comes out of its shoulder and elbow sockets with every pitch (check out still pictures just before the release point), with the ligaments/tendons all snapping everything back into place. All this, 100 times a game.

The reason why it seems like guys who sling the ball have more arm troubles is twofold:

a. in build, these are your lankier, all-arms-and-legs Ron Guidry/Dave Cone types. Clemens-sized guys have large trunks and thighs, which puts less of a toll on the arm as they're more "body throwers."

b. slingers are generally sinker/slider types. It's a myth that curves or sliders are in themselves harmful to the elbow or shoulder. The problem is, if they're not thrown properly, they can be damaging. Slingers get more of that sideways-down movement on sinkers and sliders, but at the same time, it's easier to throw them wrong (by "turning the doorknob"). So even Major Leaguers like Cone throw the occasional slurve-type pitch. Over a number of 162 game seasons, those damaging pitches add up.

[Irony Of It All]

I'd suggest you pick up "Saving the Pitcher," by Will Carroll. I'm currently reading it and it has already addressed some of the most important things regarding pitcher's health.

[CaptainThurman]

But from my armchair, I seem to notice that elbow injuries are more associated with split-finger and breaking ball pitchers, while shoulder injuries tend to be more associated with power pitchers, for what it's worth....