Saving the Pitcher

The most dangerous thing in baseball is a pitcher with potential. More than half of all starting pitchers will end up on the Disabled List and over the last three seasons, more than two hundred pitchers at all levels of professional baseball have undergone ligament replacement surgery that has cost them more than a year of an already finite resource, their baseball career. Teams are losing on the field because of an inability to keep their own pitchers healthy. Teams are losing on their ledgers as they pay out ever increasing salaries to pitchers that are unable to perform and overpaying those pitchers that do somehow remain healthy. In baseball, there is a new orthodoxy that "there is no such thing as a pitching prospect." Too many young flamethrowers simply burn out, then fade away, their potential never reached and their team never seeing any gain from their sizeable investments of time and money. Can young arms be saved from the torture and abuse subjected on them by the lords of baseball? The answer is yes. We are losing pitchers far too young, far too early, and it can be prevented. Saving the Pitcher addresses all aspects of pitcher injuries, pitcher abuse, pitcher workload, pitcher mechanics, and most importantly, injury prevention. Knowledge from doctors, trainers, coaches, pitchers, biomechanists, and researchers make this book the first complete look at pitcher health. These injuries don't have to happen. From major leaguers to little leaguers, this book is a must read for pitchers, parents, and baseball fans everywhere.

About the Author :
Will Carroll writes for Baseball Prospectus and was one of the first writers to break the news that Pete Rose will return to baseball. Since the publication of Saving the Pitcher, Mr. Carroll has published an authoritative work about steriods in baseball, The Juice, published by Ivan R. Dee in 2005. He lives in Indianapolis.

Review :
Saving the Pitcher is a must read for anyone who wants solidly researched data from an impartial baseball thinker.... It is the right book, by the right guy, for the right reason, at the right time. Will Carroll has invaluable inside medical information you cannot get anywhere else. Will Carroll talks about the controversy his writings might stir up, but the real value of this book is how it will improve the game of baseball for all who play and watch.... Saving the Pitcher is a wonderful combination of entertainment and education. Whether you are a youth baseball coach, a college pitcher, a general manager for a Major League Baseball team, or anyone else who loves baseball, this is a book you will enjoy reading. Will Carroll has brought to the average baseball fan the medical information and analysis that was once reserved for trainers, coaches, and front office personnel. In this illuminating study, Will Carroll is able to deconstruct the complexities of pitching-and pitching injuries-and explain them to the average fan.... This book be invaluable to fathers and coaches who are preparing young pitchers for professional careers.... A fascinating read, and an important book. Saving the Pitcher is like Saving Private Ryan on a ball field, with Will Carroll trying to protect the latest generation of pitchers from the arm-weary fate of their predecessors. It's about time someone codified all the ways a pitcher's arm can fall off, and more importantly, all the ways that those injuries might be prevented. Innovative and useful.... Will nails it in this book, as he always does. It's a very interesting book. It is a must-read for all coaches and parents of anyone involved with Little League or higher baseball. It is an essential reading for all those interested in this game. For those who missed Will Carroll's Saving the Pitcher...shame on you. Provides a detailed, in-depth analysis.... This is no casual survey...grounded in much research. Excellent.