Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Opens Up About Recent Injuries to Star Pitchers

A concerning storyline early this season involves the rash of pitching injuries. Several of the game’s premier pitchers have undergone season-ending elbow surgery: Shane Bieber, Spencer Strider, and Eury Perez to name a few.

Dodgers franchise icon and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, coming off the first surgery of his own career, opened up about the injuries with Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:

“If someone says, ‘I have it figured out,’ I wouldn’t listen to them,” Kershaw told The Athletic. But the three-time Cy Young Award winner and longtime Los Angeles Dodgers franchise face is willing to listen.

— Fabian Ardaya via The Athletic

Amid these injuries, many have offered up opinions as to what is causing them. Some have pointed to the pitch clock that MLB instituted last year.

Detractors say the decreased time between pitches does not allow enough time for pitchers to recover. Within that camp, some believe that while the concept of a pitch timer is fine, the shortened pitch clock this year has been detrimental to elbows.

Another contingent says the sticky substance ban plays a role. Proponents of this argument, including Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, are talking about the use of substances to just help grip the ball — nothing cooked on a stove top to increase spin rate.

Many more have pointed to the current game’s emphasis on velocity as critical in these injuries. They argue that throwing harder, generally with a more violent throwing motion, is not sustainable for their arm.

Kershaw does not offer any answers, but does raise an eyebrow to those who do:

I’m very wary of people that think they have it all figured out when all of this is still happening. If you had it figured out, you would’ve told somebody and made a billion dollars. You know what I mean? Nobody knows.”

— Clayton Kershaw via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic

These injuries present a real problem for MLB. Fans want to see the best pitchers throw gems every fifth day, and that is becoming less and less likely. Whatever the resolution might be, something needs to be done to preserve the game’s best.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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