Each baseball season presents new storylines and talking points amongst fans. Unfortunately one of the hot-button topics early on in the 2024 season has been the injury bug. Star pitchers across the league have been going down to serious arm injuries early on this season.
Sadly, the Braves know this all too well losing their ace Spencer Strider for the remainder of the season due to an elbow injury. Fans, media, and players everywhere are looking for the solution to keep the games best pitchers on the mound.
Although no one can really agree on any one particular solution, one baseball Hall of Famer thinks he knows what NOT to blame.
Greg Maddux supports pitchers hunting for velocity
Many people have been quick to blame the chase for added velocity as the primary culprit in this rash of serious arm injuries. Braves fans know, one of the best to ever do it in Greg Maddux found his success from the pinpoint location and movement in his pitches, not at all his ability to throw hard.
That is what makes Maddux's response to the rise in pitching injuries a surprising one. As someone who didn't rely on big-time velocity, Maddux says velocity is important and it's what teams are searching for. Maddux said if he was a coach, he'd prefer the guy who can throw harder.
“Velocity matters. Teams want guys who throw hard.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 18, 2024
As a coach, I’d rather coach a guy who can throw it 95 than 90.
Faster is better, but at the same time it’s not the answer to your problems.”
-Greg Madduxhttps://t.co/q6rBY9T5vV
However, Mad Dog did go on to say that velocity still isn't the solution to every pitchers problems. He claims pitchers should be focusing on how to execute their pitches better, rather than throwing it as hard as they can.
This isn't a topic that will be going away anytime soon, and as more injuries continue to pile up throughout the 2024 season, I'm sure we'll get a different opinion from another respected baseball Hall of Famer. No one has the answer yet, but baseball fans everywhere are looking forward to the day we can step in the right direction and keep these amazingly talented pitchers on the mound.