FILE - Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber walks back to the dugout after throwing against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Seattle. Cleveland’s ace will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery, a major blow to the Guardians and the 2020 Cy Young winner, who had looked like his dominant self in two strong recent starts. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber walks back to the dugout after throwing against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Seattle. Cleveland’s ace will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery, a major blow to the Guardians and the 2020 Cy Young winner, who had looked like his dominant self in two strong recent starts. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The head of the baseball players’ association thinks a shorter pitch clock has contributed to a series of pitcher injuries.
“Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the commissioner’s office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December, just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades,” union executive director Tony Clark said Saturday night in a statement.
“Since then, our concerns about the health impacts of reduced recovery time have only intensified,” Clark said. “The league’s unwillingness thus far to acknowledge or study the effects of these profound changes is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable asset — the players.”
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, the New York Yankees’ Jonathan á, Miami’s Eury Pérez and Oakland’s Trevor Gott are among the pitchers diagnosed with elbow injuries.
“This statement ignores the empirical evidence and much more significant long-term trend, over multiple decades, of velocity and spin increases that are highly correlated with arm injuries,” Major League Baseball said in a responding statement.
MLB said it is undergoing a research study into causes of increased injuries. It cited an analysis by Johns Hopkins that “found no evidence to support that the introduction of the pitch clock has increased injuries” and “no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly ... or sped up their pace were more likely to sustain an injury than those who did not.”
Cleveland said Saturday that to repair an injured right ulnar collateral ligament.
A few hours later, and will be examined further by Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister.
said Saturday he needs season-ending elbow surgery and will be sidelined for 10 to 12 months. A 29-year-old right-hander, á said he felt a pop in his elbow while throwing a changeup to Jorge Barrosa, his final batter in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 6-5, 11-inning win at Arizona. A scan revealed a torn UCL.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Miami said Thursday that and miss the season. A day earlier, .
set at 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 seconds when there was a baserunner. The average time of a nine-inning game , a 24-minute decrease to its shortest since 1985. The 11-man competition committee decided in December to , a change that was opposed by the four players on the body.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation