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Chris Bassitt calls out league for recent surge in pitcher injuries
Photo credit: sportnet
Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt spoke to the media before his start yesterday calling out the league stating the reason for all these recent injuries is partially due to the pitching clock.
Bassitt stated in his interview that all these recent injuries to star pitchers around the league is not just one problem, there are many factors but does think the new pitching clock has a lot to do with it. He believes people have to stop pointing the finger at everyone else and look at the issue as a whole. Bassitt thinks the way pitchers are throwing the ball and training is why there have been so many injuries as of late and this has a direct connection to the pitching clock. Pitchers are forced to rush the ball out before they are ready causing them to hurt themselves.
«It makes me sick to watch the finger-pointing on why is all this happening, rather than everyone kind of taking the blame for themselves,» Bassitt, who starts Monday in the series opener versus the New York Yankees, says during an interview. «First and foremost, it is the players to blame for throwing the way that we're trying to throw. But for people to think that it's not the pitch clock, that's completely wrong, it is the pitch clock. Training-wise, how people push training, it is that, too.
«This is a much bigger issue because it's not a one-factor thing,» he continues. «It's not like we take one thing away and this goes away. This is a cumulative problem. Say we have 10 weights we're trying to hold. All of a sudden you take away one and it's going to go away? That's not the way it is. The way that guys train, how hard guys throw and then you shorten the time frame of how you want people to do it — it's cumulative what's causing all this.» - Bassitt
«This is a much bigger issue because it's not a one-factor thing,» he continues. «It's not like we take one thing away and this goes away. This is a cumulative problem. Say we have 10 weights we're trying to hold. All of a sudden you take away one and it's going to go away? That's not the way it is. The way that guys train, how hard guys throw and then you shorten the time frame of how you want people to do it — it's cumulative what's causing all this.» - Bassitt
Other pitchers around the league added that having to pitch so fast, as the average pitch is around 94MPH, is also now a problem. It is always the pitchers that throw the hardest that get the best opportunities from little league all the way to the pros.
Bassitt also mentioned that the players' union had raised concerns about the pitch clock during the debate, but the new rule was still passed.
It will be interesting to see if, with all these star players getting hurt, the league will stick with the new rule or change it in the near future.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 16 | 129 ANSWERS Chris Bassitt calls out league for recent surge in pitcher injuries Is Bassitt right in his comments regarding the pitch clock? | ||
| Yes | 117 | 90.7 % |
| No | 12 | 9.3 % |
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