The Curveballs are the reason why. Having a son who plays baseball, I've seen so many young kids throw their arms out by using the Curveball. He never learned his lesson, even though his CB was nasty. Hate to see it.
The press release doesn't give me hope he'll be ready to start the 2024 season since it says he's expected to return "during the 2024 season"...not in time for the start of the season.
Could he has been back this season if he has gotten the surgery immediately following the World Series?
I actually think it's the slider that is the cause. He started using it more than his curveball and that's when he started having more health issues According to Trevor Bauer the key to throwing the curve is to lock your wrist, you don't actually "snap" off a curveball, you throw it like you're trying to karate chop a board. However with a slider, you do have to manipulate your wrist action when throwing it. I'd be curious to see what the data shows on pitchers who primarily throw sliders vs breaking balls and the injury rates
The best car I ever had was a Corolla. That thing went over 220k miles. Drove it practically my entire 30’s.
I want somebody to say that he could get back to the 2021 level of pitching (before the injury). Career highs in starts, innings pitched, and was dominant in the playoffs. his stuff, while effective last year, wasn’t what it was in 2021.
Its pitching. NO pitcher is immune to this sort of repetitive stress that the body was never built to handle long term. I prescribe to the theory that every arm has a finite amount of pitches before it breaks down. Some are genetically blessed for it to take a decade plus before that happens (Nolan, JV). Some never can get right for a sustained period of time, regardless of surgeries (DeGrom). Its also why if you have a true phenom in the minors, you're seeing more and more teams become aggressive with their promotion to try and secure some prime injury-free years when they can.
Did anybody suspect it was a different injury? He himself admitted it during the playoffs last year... when rehabbing that injury at times seemed that it wasn't going the way it should, but eventually allowed him to pitch.
On Yordan Alvarez, Astros GM Dana Brown said it’s “looking like it could be four weeks” before he’s back. Alvarez did have an MRI on his oblique. — @danielle_lerner Dana Brown said there’s no exact timeline for Lance McCullers Jr., whose return will be sometime in 2024. McCullers will start throwing in November and in January the Astros will assess where he’s at. — @danielle_lerner Astros GM Dana Brown said McCullers had a “lima bean-sized” bone spur removed and won’t throw until November. He didn’t give a timetable for a return except he will be back next year at some point. — @BrianMcTaggart Dana Brown said Lance McCullers Jr.’s UCL “is in good shape.” — @Chandler_Rome
I don't think it is the curve... it is trying to get the velo on the fastball... the body just can't handle the force inflicted onto the body throwing that hard repeatedly...
It's a violent stressor on the body. For sure. It's frustrating with Mccullers because he's barely healthy.
