Tommy John Surgery an Emerging Trend in Young Baseball Players

Baseball players have a new worry and it comes in the form of painful surgery. More and more baseball players are heading under the knife to undergo what has become popularly called "Tommy John's Surgery". This elbow repair surgery, which replaces the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, is usually performed on pitchers who have damaged their arms by pitching too many pitches or have fallen victim to poor mechanics. Some notable major league players have undergone the surgery, including pitchers Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and John Smoltz. The new wave of Tommy John surgeries have taken a decidedly younger swing, a fact that has many pundits worried about the arms of America's young baseball players.

College aged pitchers are among those folks most likely to go under the knife. At Clemson University, where the baseball team is ranked among the nation's best, five pitchers have undergone the procedure in the last three years alone. One pitcher, junior William Bond, has struggled in two years of rehab in an attempt to get back to where he was. While his surgery was unfortunate, the left-hander recalled an experience that was much more chilling when he went into the office of his surgeon. Bond spoke candidly of a father who was waiting to see the doctor. He told Bond that his son was having the surgery and asked him what to expect. Bond responded with sentiment that it could be a difficult process for a young guy. What happened next is especially telling in regards to today's baseball culture. The man looked at the pitcher and confidently said, "He'll be alright, he's almost fourteen now."

Why would a fourteen year old need surgery on his elbow? The answer is pretty simple. Little league and high school coaches are pushing young players to throw more pitches, adding curveballs and sliders to their mix. These pitches place more torque on the elbow and require a greater amount of strength. Young arms simply cannot take the stress of these pitches. That leads to situations like the one in the doctor's office.

There is also another reason why parents and coaches might want their players to undergo this painful procedure and it's even more disturbing. Though it takes well over a year to fully recover from Tommy John's surgery, pitchers generally come back with even stronger arms than they had before. That knowledge is leading to coaches and parents to make the tough call to put their youngsters under the knife.

As surgeries become more advanced, folks will continue to look for an edge. If it's not performance-enhancing drugs, then it is putting their kid on the cutting table for a competitive advantage. With the inherent risks associated with the procedure, the advantages are undoubtedly not worth the risks for young people.