Injuries are at an all-time high this season in professional baseball, both in the Minors and at the MLB level. In a day and age where so many guys are throwing in the high 90's and into triple-digits, countless pitchers are ending up on the IL. If you're asking New York Mets starter Max Scherzer why it's happening so much, he has the answer: Bad mechanics.
Via Jon Heyman of The New York Post:
“Max Scherzer simply says he believes the issue is “bad mechanics.” Scherzer always was tagged as an injury risk, mostly due to a speck on his labrum that showed on MRI exams but never resulted in pain or any sort of symptom.”
For what it's worth, Scherzer has barely been injured in his long big league career, with the exception of this season. He's only made 19 starts. But, Mad Max is one pitcher who has beautiful mechanics, using his lower body very well to take the stress off his arm. The problem is, a lot of youngsters don't do this. They rely strictly on arm strength and that results in injuries.
Plus, there are a lot of different training regimens to increase velocity that is questionable, including the use of weighted balls. Perhaps going back to good ol' long toss is the answer? Who knows. Max Scherzer appears to believe the issue is the delivery of these pitchers, though.
Scherzer is in the midst of another fantastic campaign, posting a 9-4 record and 2.27 ERA, striking out 148 in 122.2 innings. The Mets will be praying he stays healthy as they gear up for a hopeful World Series run come October.
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