Recent data reveals a concerning trend in baseball: the rate of Tommy John surgeries among professional pitchers has significantly increased. By the end of the 2023 season, 35.7% of all non-position player pitchers had undergone Tommy John surgery, with an additional 11 surgeries since then pushing the percentage to 37.0%. This marks a stark increase, surpassing the total number of surgeries conducted in the entire 1990s. Despite perceptions of a recent surge, analysis indicates that the high frequency of these surgeries has been consistent since around 2014, particularly within the first 100 days of the year, which is the peak period for elbow injuries. The Red Sox's Triple A lefty, Chris Murphy, is among the latest to undergo the procedure, with his surgery being performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas on 2024-04-10. The rising number of ulnar collateral ligament injuries among pitchers is altering the landscape of baseball and the approach to surgical interventions, signaling an epidemic that is reshaping the sport.
The number of injuries to pitchers’ ulnar collateral ligaments keeps rising, an epidemic changing both baseball and the surgical landscape. What does Tommy John surgery looks like today? @CodyStavenhagen on how the procedure has changed ⤵️ https://t.co/XQRKN4zRFh
#RedSox: Triple A lefty Chris Murphy underwent a successful reconstruction of the left ulnar collateral ligament (Tommy John surgery) in Texas today. Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery at Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery in Arlington.
There is no Tommy John surge this spring -- it's just always this bad since ~2014. Today marks the 100th day of the year, a period during when most elbow injuries occur. We looked at the first 100 days of each year re: TJS procedures for MLB and all pro pitchers since Tommy John… https://t.co/smNQQ3bo2Q
In 2023 there were more Tommy John surgeries amongst professional pitchers than the entire decade of the 1990's combined https://t.co/S0q9dwkWj2
At the end of the 2023 season, 35.7% of all non-position player pitchers had had Tommy John surgery at some point in their lives. 11 more have had it since, bumping that percentage up to 37.0%. https://t.co/CKoPeOKV6u