The Tommy John Chronicles: A Baseball Injury Detective Story

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet the Tommy John Tracker
• 5:02 Creating the Tommy John Account
• 14:31 Mechanics Behind Elbow Injuries
• 21:42 The Load vs Mechanics Debate
• 27:15 The High School Injury Crisis
• 31:31 Best Pitching Mechanics to Emulate

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hey everybody, this is Dr Kevin McGovern and it is another VelocityRx podcast. And boy do I have a treat for you today. You may know him as Tommy John Surgery. He is just a man and we have very, very similar backgrounds on how we got into predicting or how we got into me predicting and him statusizing the amount of Tommy John surgeries there are all throughout baseball college pro, I think there's even people in there from the Japan League. He's got people all over the place and we're going to keep his to protect the innocent. We're going to just keep his name as Tommy John. But I'd like to welcome Tommy John, not the Tommy John, not the underwear company, but just another Tommy John who has an unbelievable Instagram page where he just lists all of the people that has had Tommy John surgery. So, tommy, welcome to the VelocityRx podcast. Thank you for coming on today.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Thanks for inviting me. It's a pleasure to be here I really enjoy your work.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Well, thank you. So you know off air. I asked you know, like, hey, how did you get into this? So tell everyone how you got into statusizing this, which is a lot, how I got into predicting this staticizing this, which is a lot how I get into predicting this.

Speaker 2: 1:27

So I mean, most baseball fans play fantasy baseball, I'd imagine. So we've all been part of those trades, those trades where you think this is my guy, this is the guy, whoever it is, especially in the keeper leagues. In the keeper leagues, the dynasty leagues, the deep leagues especially. You know you're looking for that young guy, you trade for him and then all of a sudden next week, boom guy gets Tommy John and you just traded away all your picks. You're like fuck.

Speaker 2: 1:53

So that's where it kind of started and I was like, all right, let's see if we could find all the people that have Tommy John, like this year, last year, year, previous seasons, like all time. So I was on instagram because I do a lot of my work on instagram, obviously, and I'm like following these update pages. You know I'll give some shout outs like mlb transactions daily, uh, mlb central, because they do the minor league guys and they're always posting like, oh, this guy got tommy john, this guy got tommy john, but obviously they do all the other transaction moves. But I was like, all right, let's see, let's type in at tommy john surgery, let's see if there's someone who keeps track of this. I was like, no, I was like what? Why is this not being kept track of? Then there's more searching nothing. Still like oh shit, I think I found something, I think I found some niche that I can get into and I was like all right.

Speaker 2: 2:49

So I sat on it for like a month or so. I I took the handle, I made the account, added it and I was like all right, now, what do I do with it? Do I turn it into a meme account? Do I do good? Do I try to, like you know, keep people informed, like these other pages that I follow and like their hits, and you know it's like really informative. People love it because what their service, the service to providing. So I said, fuck it, let's, let's see where this goes. Let's, you know like I'm not expecting anyone to follow because this could be like everyone makes fun of me and you know, like this is the guy that wants everybody to get Tommy John, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Or it's just you know like I forget about it. In a week later the count dies and I just holding Tommy John surgery. I just forget for the rest of time.

Speaker 2: 3:40

So then I kind of was just like, alright, fuck it, drew Smith got Tommy John from the Mets. I was like, alright, let's post them, right, fuck it, drew Smith got Tommy Tommy John from the Mets. I was like all right, let's post them, let's see where this goes. I got like 10 likes. I was like all right, cool, whatever. And then two guys from the Orioles, tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish, I think it was at the time Another two like 50 likes, follow, people start following, they're commenting. I'm like, oh, this is, this is cool. Then you know, more posts, more comments. A lot of the thing is the comments. That's that's where people like that's what gets. The following is the comments, because it's like it's exactly what I envisioned in my head. Do I go memes and like have fun with it, or do I go informative and I like to do a little bit of both and I just get posting. You probably get the same comments regardless.

Speaker 1: 4:29

You get the trolls, you get this, you get.

Speaker 2: 4:30

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 4:31

You just want people to get hurt. You just want and all you're doing. You're not posting on any sort of assessment.

Speaker 2: 4:42

You're a.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Instagram transaction list. Right Of just elbow surgery.

Speaker 2: 4:47

Yeah, so when people get it, I post them. And then you'll find me on literally every single MLB post and it's just something either related to Tommy John, like oh yeah, how's this guy's elbow feeling? Or something like that. Something stupid, something witty, nothing like oh, I hope this guy gets Tommy John. Like oh, I can't wait for Paul Skeens. It's like I'll throw up a knife. You know, just that's the trademark the knife.

Speaker 1: 5:13

He's on my. He's on my predictor list.

Speaker 2: 5:15

He's on the knife. Watch. He's on the knife watch. I mean, you know, you know better than me, so I'm not, I'm not trying to come with any professional or hoping anybody gets it. I want all these guys. Like I told you before, I want all these guys to be healthy.

Speaker 2: 5:30

This is their job, this is their life. They're human beings. These are the guys that we look up to, we aspire to. They're our heroes. Why would I want to take that away from somebody? I didn't grow up playing baseball, but it would have been cool as shit if I was a pitcher, you know like and all these kids.

Speaker 2: 5:50

I get a lot of kids following me, high school and middle school kids and if I start saying I hope paul skeens get injured this and that you know it opens up a whole nother portal just like weirdness and no, but we have to. It brings up a very good point and you know I it opens up a whole nother portal, just like weirdness.

Speaker 1: 6:05

No, but we have to. It brings up a very good point and you know, I, the, the, the. The comparison between you and I is I too got conned into being in one of these keeper leagues and I said I can't do it alone, there's no way, it's too much time, I'll do it with somebody.

Speaker 1: 6:21

It's too much time. I'll do it with somebody, and all right, All right. And I'm like you know he's like well, what about this trade? We got Jabba Chamberlain Yep, no, what do you mean? Oh, we got. We have a chance to get Johan Santana. Nope, we can't do that Well why, why I'm like, trust me, they. They blew out. You know, and I do have. You know, I have Yamamoto is going to get hurt. He's already been hurt. You know Walker Bueller, you know these guys that Sasaki also.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Sasaki is going to get hurt, like, and you know. And then people, oh, you're, you know, again, same thing, you're, you're an injury, you know an injury monitor. And I'm like, no, you know. And Skeens is next and it is because of I just decided this week in preparation for us being here is just to have this the Tommy John injury formula Drift plus shrug, plus drag right.

Speaker 1: 7:14

Is our center of mass going too far forward that our arm doesn't catch up? Yes, are we shrugging right, opposite of how the body should work? So any mtw the mark prior, you know that initiates the upper trap muscle, which automatically already causes a mechanical impingement. And then are they dragging their back leg, which a lot of people? I just posted something on my instagram account.

Speaker 1: 7:38

You may have seen that little kid being taught to drag his back leg. That just got like oh, my god, there's no one teaching that. Yeah, not only is no one teaching, his name is Tom house. Okay, that's his teaching. So those three factors, and I was like you know, I'm like put them up, put anyone who's had Tommy John surgery and I will go up against and you will see these three things drift, drag and shrug in some part, and Paul Skeens is in that category. Now, I'm not saying he's going to blow, I'm not wishing it on him, but would I teach you know, because my mission is to save a million arms. So would I teach like you said? Would I teach a middle school player to throw like Chris Sale? No, never, not in a gazillion years.

Speaker 2: 8:31

He's very injury prone, as we've seen.

Speaker 1: 8:34

I had him predicted for two years. Chris Sale, like a Trevor Bauer, has unbelievable elasticity of his arm. His arm and elbow do things that and and they're, they're one in a million, right. So these kids are seeing all of this stuff on social media and they're, and they're emulating that Cause that's what I did when I was a kid. I mean, dude, I could probably still do the 1978 Yankees batting water, their batting stance right, and the Ryan Gidner I can still do him to a tee.

Speaker 2: 9:05

Every kid does that, yeah right.

Speaker 1: 9:07

So now you know, now they have the social media, and then they can film themselves. They can you know they can do all of this and it's bad because they're picking up bad habits that only 0.000% of the population can do safely right and they're not even safe. So you know, and then I'll get. Well, chris Sills made $80 million, okay, great. So has Steven Strasburg. But Steven Strasburg right now doesn't have complete use of his right arm. He's got so much nerve damage Was it worth it.

Speaker 1: 9:41

So was it worth it? So he's going to have to throw left handed or higher. Instead of a nanny, he's going to have to hire a thrower To have a catch for this kid. Is it worth it?

Speaker 2: 9:54

Yeah, it comes with the price. I mean they're great pitchers, don't get us wrong. We recognize how good they are, but the problem is their mechanics or whatever it is. People say it's how good they are, but the problem is their mechanics or whatever it is. People say it's how hard they flow. It's a training. It's always an argument. That's what I hear. The load.

Speaker 1: 10:13

It's the load, it's the load, it's the load, it's the load I'm going to just pull up. Grab anybody from. We'll pull up Jim. He wasn't a hard thrower, but I just like to pull up his stats. But you know, he certainly got above 90. But you know, jim Palmer pitching statistics most teams don't have right. So, like, if you look at his, let's see, let's pull him up. So first of all, he, he averaged in a 62 game he averaged like 200. First of all, he threw 3,948 innings and I think he averaged. Let me just pull this up.

Speaker 2: 10:57

What player in modern day baseball has thrown close to that?

Speaker 1: 11:00

Nowhere, right? I mean, look at, look, mean, look at Clemens, right, these guys? So his 162 game average okay, for innings pitched, are you ready, let's see is 249. I remember someone they showed from the I forget who it was this year they had shown oh, congratulations, you've pitched. He's pitched 190 innings for three years in a row. I mean I'm looking at Palmer's innings 305, 282, 274, 296, 315, 319. So don't tell me it's load. That's the other thing. It's load. Okay, so someone may throw max effort, but these guys are pitching 10, like five and six times more innings than your guy. So what?

Speaker 2: 11:56

and how many complete games do they throw within these seasons?

Speaker 1: 11:58

oh, all right, so let's say complete games I have it up also. I'm looking at it too the complete games, because I have it up also. I'm looking at it too the complete games are insane right 25, 30.

Speaker 2: 12:07

Right, and you're telling me it's players not being able to throw over 100 pitches.

Speaker 1: 12:14

That's the other thing, right, Come on. Well, I mean, just this year it was funny. They had celebrated Fernando Valenzuela's life, right, you know, they had celebrated um Fernando Valenzuela's life, Right. And then so they're showing the Yankee Dodger world series in 81, where he goes like 12 innings right and throws like 150 pitches. That's like two weeks worth of pitches for starting pitchers. Now, Right. And then every pitcher in the world series last year didn't get out of the fifth inning, so it's not load, right.

Speaker 1: 12:45

And then the other thing is, of course you know they'll argue about the guys threw harder. I don't know. Nolan Ryan threw pretty hard and obviously back then, you know I just watched a game, an old game Nolan Ryan was hitting 97. That's 97 behind the plate with a guy holding a gun. Now, with computer, it's right out of their hand, so what?

Speaker 2: 13:06

do you?

Speaker 1: 13:07

think right out of your hand at 97 is right out of your hand if it's 97 at home plate 102, 103, yeah, it's crazy. So it's. Rather than try to be like, hey, you know what, we do have a problem and his arm is late and you know, I keep saying we need to have a pitching avatar, we need to get an agreement, but we can't even get an agreement that Tommy John's injuries are a problem.

Speaker 2: 13:34

Yeah, and Tommy John will say sure, he got the surgery, but it was always the recovery that was what made him so successful. Speaking of which, so after these guys come back, they're getting a second time. They're getting it sometimes, even in rare occasions.

Speaker 1: 13:52

Third time.

Speaker 2: 13:53

A third time, jason Ersinghausen.

Speaker 1: 13:56

Well, like you said about the recovery, so Tommy John, pull up his numbers. He missed a complete year. Now these guys are missing, as you probably know, 18 months.

Speaker 1: 14:04

A year and a half year Now these guys are missing, as you probably know, 18 months. So if we have this experimental surgery in 1974 and the rehab to get him back and when he came back he came back and pitched well over 200 innings every year how come the rehab process is not better, it's worse. Right, and I always say bigger, stronger guys with the same crappy mechanics that are never changed or the same Cause. Now the average picture is over six.

Speaker 2: 14:32

three. Yeah, they're huge. Now they're monsters. You don't have the small guys going anymore. You don't have the, the Marcus Stroman's or the the shorter guys that are like five, 10, Severino even considered small, he's a big guy, 5'10".

Speaker 1: 14:48

No, you got all these guys that are. You know, I think it was St Louis doesn't draft anyone under 6'2". You know, you've got all of these size variants or size minimums that they have to have, but no one is really saying besides you and you're not. You're just pointing out that there's a problem. So let me ask you maybe you know or don't know how many guys are on your list.

Speaker 2: 15:14

Do you know my list, I mean since I started the account? You can just look at the post number. It's like I'm at 98 now, minus minus, like three or four, because there was a couple like uh graphics in there, but like, let's say like 92, 93 at the very least 93 since may that's it.

Speaker 1: 15:34

That's including like one or two football people, I think one guy so since may of last year, that's almost, we'll say we'll round it up to almost be a hundred hundred players yeah, just yeah, just about it, cause I'm also missing people.

Speaker 2: 15:47

There's like three or four guys that I haven't gotten to posting yet, plus college guys that I started including, um, the Japanese league also, yep, so I mean, I'm not even a touch. The Mexican league.

Speaker 1: 16:01

No, no, actually I'm, actually I'm actually have a. A. A one of my clients is is supposed to be playing in the Mexican league right now. He's like, if I go down there and I'm not juicing, I'll be out of there in a week, so yeah.

Speaker 2: 16:18

So well, it's crazy, like I can tell you, like the amount of DMS I get from high schoolers. Hey, my friend just got Tommy John, can you post them? I schoolers hey, my friend just got Tommy John, can you post him? I'm like no, I'm not going to go into high school. Oh my God, I'm like I'm not going into high school. There's no way I'm going into high school. We're not on this account.

Speaker 1: 16:34

Do you know the numbers? In high school it's like 60%.

Speaker 2: 16:38

It's high, it's way too high. I've turned away so many kids is incredible.

Speaker 1: 16:43

Guess what. Two years ago I had my first gal, my first girl, yep, and that was because so she had. You know, again, and some of these, a lot of these coaches are volunteers and again they're looking on social media. They had her throwing, they did a whole thing of plyo balls and they're throwing not long toss but they were throwing it, you know, 60, 70 feet, yep.

Speaker 2: 17:07

Yep, yep, yep, yep. There you have it.

Speaker 1: 17:09

Cause I know softball is um.

Speaker 2: 17:12

They get a lot of hip injuries. They don't get the elbow.

Speaker 1: 17:15

They do. They get a lot of hip for those More natural.

Speaker 2: 17:17

Yeah, we'll say Allegedly. Yeah, it's, you know it's, it's possible, it's. I'm sure it hasn't been reported as as as often, cause, you know, I used to hang around my college softball team, so they were always getting hurt.

Speaker 1: 17:34

So what is the best or most productive comment that you have ever gotten from somebody?

Speaker 2: 17:41

The most productive. I mean off the top of my head, I, I don't really know. Uh, I mean off the top of my head, I don't really know. I like to engage as often as possible. That's certainly how we met. Take the time to look at the scientific part, like like yourself and and uh, there's other doctors and physical therapists and trainers out there that that also comment on my stuff or in random posts on on mlb instagram sphere and it's whatever's pretty productive or constructive. That's what I don't get as often as I thought I would. All right, that's more personal, like DMs and stuff like that. I don't know, I couldn't really tell you to be honest.

Speaker 1: 18:32

What about the other side? What about the haters or the trolls? I call them keyboard warriors. You know, I always ask them. I always say to them you know, I'm real sorry, mom raised your rent you know I get it like, like, and it's always you'll trace back and it's always you'll find or find someone that it's they're affiliated with a driveline, a tread um, because you know my buddy had said this just talking about being defrauded or like not having anything to do with pitching. He's like no grown man is ever going to admit they were defrauded.

Speaker 1: 19:05

Or like not having anything to do with pitching, he's like no grown man is ever going to admit they were defrauded, right. They're never going to admit they were a victim of a crime. They're never going to admit that. You know they fell for the phone scam, so you know, putting that to baseball, no one is going to admit that. They've spent all this time trying to perfect their craft with something that really just caused them to be injured, so they got to try to make everybody else wrong.

Speaker 2: 19:28

And that's sad.

Speaker 1: 19:29

That doesn't get us anywhere.

Speaker 2: 19:31

It's just, if I'm down, I have to bring you down with me Correct. Like what you were saying with the trolls, I haven't been trolled as much as you think I would be until like last week, I'd say Maybe because that's I don't know what happened.

Speaker 1: 19:47

Maybe until like last week I'd say I don't know what happened. Maybe that's because I commented on yourself so much or I knew you're good.

Speaker 2: 19:50

I like seeing you like go back and forth with people. I'm like yo check out dr kevin, he's back, uh, but it's funny, it's. It's been a trip because so what?

Speaker 1: 20:02

what happened? What happened last week? What, what was I?

Speaker 2: 20:04

don't know I I comment on so much shit randomly and then people just get at me. It's the Cubs fans. They always compare the Jackson Churrio to PCA argument and I got involved with that. I usually try not to get into arguments with people because I'm like I don't need it and then it's like I know, it's just, you know, I'll put them in a pretzel.

Speaker 2: 20:30

So I'm the Tommy John account. You know. Like, come on, it's no contest half the time so. But like I don't know. People have just been getting on me like they'll be like, oh, what do you know about baseball? You're just a Tommy John account. I'm like, oh, what do you know about baseball? You're just a tummy johnny cat. I'm like, what, what does this have to do with anything? I've watched the game as much as you do.

Speaker 1: 20:51

Like, right, come on and you're not saying, you're not giving the reason why they get hurt, you're just giving that. You're just reporting on that.

Speaker 2: 20:58

They're hurt whether they get hurt or not, it's. It's not for for me to to wish it upon them or want it to. You know, like I'm just like, I'm just here, like oh, people are just like yo. You just want people to get hurt so you can make posts. I'm like no man. I'm like sure it's great for the business. I yeah, I get that, but like I don't want people to get hurt, I'm just giving you what's going on and I'm like I'm just like the New York Times of elbow surgeries.

Speaker 1: 21:24

Right, right. And you wish, like I wish you didn't have an account, right, that there wasn't this epidemic. And man, I would think that if you did answer that kid's DM, that 92 or 94 number would be in. You know there's more adolescents. So just so we know because this is what one guy tried to tell me that there's less adolescents playing than people over 19 or 20. I'm like no dude, no, there's a lot. It's the other way around, because after a certain time, if you're not playing high school baseball or college or pro, you're done. There's way more adolescents playing. So when 60 of all tommy john surgeries are adolescents, that's an enormous number.

Speaker 2: 22:10

Compared to major league, that number would probably be in the thousands I can't imagine, uh, these surgeons, what they have to go through, like how busy they are, like recently it's like I can tell you around here in Texas he's got a full plan going on.

Speaker 2: 22:29

Like I have some moms of minor leaguers that they're like, oh yeah, when we were in the waiting room to go to surgery or consultation with Dr Meister, garrett Cole came in. You know, this guy came in. That guy came in. I'm like yo, that's crazy. Like yeah, garrett Cole came in. You know, this guy came in. That guy came in. I'm like yo, that's crazy. Like yeah, he's in bad shape, like it's. It's worse than what it looks like, and I knew that, I knew that last.

Speaker 1: 22:55

So you know, I knew. Once it happened, I'm like and here's the other thing too the ligament is at its perfect length or it's useless, right? So if it's stretched out it's useless. It's called the length-tension relationship. So when they said it's a strain or no, no, no, no, it's like the ACL in the knee it's either its perfect length or it's gone, I knew and I said they're going to arrest him, they're going to shoot him up, they're going to do whatever they can and he did.

Speaker 1: 23:25

There I said they're going to rest him, they're going to shoot him up, they're going to do whatever they can, and he did. There was a little, there was hope, there was a little mechanical adjustment for him. Like he, I looked at his arm Wasn't as late, but again, he's not as much of a drifter but he's a shrugger. He gets out, he shrugs and his and his arms late and I knew and I was just kind of like, and then this year.

Speaker 1: 23:49

I mean, what do you throw one start and that was it. Yeah, and this is my point of like. You know, why don't these guys and I don't know if it's a business thing like just fall on the sword? So on august or november 2nd of last year he should have been in the operating room and then, then he'd be back early right.

Speaker 1: 24:06

You know, and that's in every sport. Even these NBA guys wait until the start. This is our way. And now he needs season ending. Well, he wouldn't have. And that's where the fan really gets penalized, right Like he could have been back, like if he got in November, then he might be back or you know whatever or something like that, but these guys don't, they wait and they don't do it, and then maybe that's a bit, maybe I don't know enough about the business of it, but you know it's.

Speaker 2: 24:31

it's crazy Cause. I'll give you a story because, like because of the platform that I have now, you know, people message me, people talk to me and whatever. And and I found out the Christian Scott from the Mets he was pitching for months with the torn UCL knew it, but he knew he was, he was going to get called up soon. So he got the call up, pitched twice and then got the surgery.

Speaker 1: 24:57

So and that's it, and that's a bit, and that's the business. And you know I can't can I fault the guy for doing that. But that's different than a Garrett Cole who's already making 37 million, guaranteed that money. You know, it's just you know.

Speaker 2: 25:12

But I wish all these guys was it worth it. I mean, he didn't cover.

Speaker 1: 25:19

He didn't really cover first base like he should.

Speaker 2: 25:21

I don't think that.

Speaker 1: 25:23

I don't think that anything to do with his elbow. But yeah, I mean I wish I wish you didn't't think that I need to do with his elbow. But yeah, I mean I wish, I wish you didn't have a site. I wish you know there needs to be much better information out there and there needs to be much better information out there earlier, because definitely.

Speaker 1: 25:39

I feel by time I primarily work in the adolescent area. You know, I've got some college kids, like I said, we got a couple of pro guys, but by then they've had either fixed ideas or they're already ruined, like they've already. I'm. I'm working in reverse because I've got to break bad habits that they have been doing for years. And then you know, once you break the bad habit, then they're like oh my God, my arm feels better. Like my God, my arm feels better. Like yeah, of course it feels better because you weren't supposed to be doing that, you're supposed to be doing this. But adolescence to me, is the biggest bang of where we're going to make changes, to stop your sight.

Speaker 2: 26:22

It starts at the bottom. I mean, usually we'd say things start at the top, but it really starts with the kids if the kids are taught properly how to throw the ball mechanically.

Speaker 2: 26:33

Uh, you're gonna see less of this happen because once they start going into the high school, college, travel ball, that stuff, once they're mechanically sound, they're gonna keep going, they're gonna continue. They're to have a long career, healthy career. But you can't fix it, you can't. It's not that you can't fix. It's harder to fix that once they're established, once they're in college, once they're professional, because then you know this is muscle memory.

Speaker 1: 27:00

We're talking about a lot of the time right so you know I'm.

Speaker 2: 27:05

I'm not trying to be no professional or anything, I'm just no, you're right, regular guy, but you know this is my mindset from it? Because from any sport it starts with the kids. How do you mold the kids?

Speaker 1: 27:17

uh, mind yeah and I'll even go a step further and say that because of all this technology, like when I was was a kid, I'd go and emulate, we'd go out and we'd play wiffle ball and we'd do this and we'd do that.

Speaker 2: 27:31

There was no computers to tell you how to throw you watch on TV and you see.

Speaker 1: 27:36

Or there wasn't computers period, you have to go out and play. So kids aren't even learning proper functional movement because they're not outside playing, because they're, they're like this or they're behind a video game and you know, go to any ball field in your in town. There's no kids out playing, so they're not learning how to move correctly. The only thing that they're doing are organized or structured activity, and if that structure is wrong, then they're going to build bad habits right out of the right, out of the right out of the box, and I actually had a question for you.

Speaker 2: 28:09

Sure, I thought of, because you're always talking about who's the wrong person to emulate, who's? You know, this guy's got the the, the drag, the shrug and and all that. But I always, I always wanted to ask you like who's good, who's exactly whose mechanics, or whose, uh, delivery is proper, who should the kids emulate?

Speaker 1: 28:32

So I was, so anyone pretty much 25 years ago. I mean, look at Roger Clemens. So for me, the biggest thing, and what they're teaching now compared to what they're teaching yesteryear, is the drop and drive. Right. You watch Clemens and even if you watch a role, this Chapman right. Even I got a picture of David Cohen doing this unbelievable one-legged squat, because kids can't do one-legged squats. Rather than teach that, they taught the drift. So as soon as they picked their leg up, they're already drifting towards home plate. It's the equivalent of stepping in a bucket.

Speaker 1: 29:07

If you did that hitting, you'd never hit a curveball. If you did it golfing, you'd be shanking the ball into the woods. So it's that first movement down. That is your whole timing, because once you go down, then your leg falls down the mound and then, when your front foot hits the ground, your center of mass is still behind you Yep, not in front of you. If it's in front of you, your arm cannot catch up. So even though a role this Chapman has got a really really long arm path Like he brings that arm back to, like Cleveland, it catches up and he throws downhill because he drops down first All these other guys. He's old, he's old, yeah, he's never been hurt.

Speaker 1: 29:55

He's never had an arm injury. So yeah, but I'd have to go back. Even one of the guys who's got, I'll say this name and probably no one listening will know who I'm talking about. You go back to yesteryear and you look at two people, bob Feller and Robin Roberts, unbelievable mechanics. They finished downhill in a fielding position, both through from all accounts through, I think bob feller had raced a motorcycle, so they had a motorcycle go at like 90 miles an hour and as soon as it got up, though, he would throw the ball like it. It was ball versus, because they never you know, they never ate our guns back then, yeah and um.

Speaker 1: 30:38

Both guys have very smooth, smooth deliveries. But you know, are kids going to emulate that? No, they're going to emulate. They're going to emulate, you know, walker Bueller. They're going to emulate Sasaki or Yamamoto, or I mean, you know, I heard I had a kid come in who's been working with me as I'm decoding him from all the bad things with me, as I'm decoding him from all the bad things.

Speaker 1: 31:02

I mean, he went to a guru who I've already mentioned their name, and they're putting up Otani as what to do. No, otani's blown out twice. You want to put them up for what to do and how to hit home runs all day long, but you cannot under any circumstances put him up as something to do for pitching. He's gotten hurt twice and if they don't do any anything to fix his arm, it'll be a third time. Like so, yeah, it's more of the so the look, it's more of the pitchers of yesteryear who do functional movements. And again, anyone doing this, you know, any little kid who picks up a ball doesn't get into a W and M or a T, they pick it and they throw it like a pie and that's the basics.

Speaker 1: 31:54

That's the basics. That's literally the basic things that I just don't see out there. And we're reteaching a lot of kids and a lot of kids are getting hurt and I don't like that.

Speaker 2: 32:05

It's a shame Because I feel bad with all these kids in my DMs. Hey, they're kind of proud about it.

Speaker 1: 32:14

Literally. It's funny. You should say that it is almost a badge of honor.

Speaker 2: 32:18

Hey, I went through it, I've been through it, I'm fine I already got it, so I'm good for the rest of my career yes, and I hate that because we know that that's.

Speaker 1: 32:28

We know that that's where we got position players blowing out. We know that that's not, that's not right that's not right, I just feel so bad.

Speaker 2: 32:36

I'm like yeah, so how do you get well soon? They're like what can I do to recover? Like what are your? What do you suggest?

Speaker 1: 32:45

I'm like whoa now just say send them, send them, send them the velocity rx.

Speaker 2: 32:49

I'll, I'll take, I'll take care of them I, I just, I'm just like just try to find a good rehab program that you trust, that you believe in, that you know they're going to do right by you. That's my best advice. I'm not going to try to tell you oh yeah, fix, fix your arm slot, do this. No, that's not my job. I'm just going to tell you who got it.

Speaker 1: 33:09

Well, mr Tommy John, the second, the third, the fourth, I really appreciate you coming on. This is very insightful. Your site is. It's sad, right At the end of the day, like you're not intending to be, but the list is and hopefully I wish you all the success because the more that you could bring it in people's face like hey, we have an epidemic pandemic whatever you want to call of arm injuries. That here's, here's just my pro guys. It's triple, quadruple, 10 times this in the adolescence. To too many, too many to name.

Speaker 2: 33:43

Yeah, it's a real shame. Like I'm only going to keep posting. That's the sad part. It's not like, oh yeah, it's going to be slow. It doesn't get slow until the off season and even then I'm still posting once, twice, maybe a week, because I was like over the winter. I was like over the winter. I was like all right now, what do I do with this account? Do I forget about it? You know, like it wasn't that big at the time.

Speaker 1: 34:08

We hit February and the Yankees had three guys in a week. Don't forget they had Cole and two other guys in the same week.

Speaker 2: 34:14

Yep, yep. And there's another one in AA that I got to post. I forgot his name off the top of my head. I've been sitting on this guy, but there's another one, and I got two in japan that I gotta post. I got a couple college guys that I promised would post but haven't got around to it. Um, it's, it's not good I'll look forward to.

Speaker 1: 34:38

I'll look forward to seeing them. So his site site on Instagram is at Tommy John Surgery. So I appreciate you coming on and please, guys, like and subscribe to my podcast Next week. I've got a real treat for you. We mentioned some of the Yankees wellness team and we've got a guy named David Weck who has invented the Bosu ball. I've had it on the podcast before and boy does he have a lot of enlightening thoughts about pitching injuries and he is a very intelligent guy. So he'll be on next week's show. So like and subscribe. Thank you for listening and I will see everyone next week. Bye-bye.