Saving the Pitcher [Paperback]

Will Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2007

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.

Editorial Reviews

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. (Dr. Tom House )

Will Carroll has invaluable inside medical information you cannot get anywhere else. (Peter Gammons )

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. (Glenn Fleisig, Ph.D. )

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. (Keith Law )

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. (Alex Belth )

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. (Steven Goldman )

Innovative and useful.... Will nails it in this book, as he always does. (Jamey Newberg )

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. (Mobile Register )

It is an essential reading for all those interested in this game. (Fadil Ozyener Journal Of Sports Science and Medicine )

For those who missed Will Carroll's Saving the Pitcher...shame on you. (Peter Gammons Espn.Com )

Provides a detailed, in-depth analysis.... This is no casual survey...grounded in much research. (Bookwatch )

Excellent. (Roto Authority )

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee; 1 edition (March 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566637287
• ISBN-13: 978-1566637282
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first of its kind, May 31, 2004

By 

Anthony Passaretti (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saving the Pitcher: Preventing Pitcher Injuries in Modern Baseball (Hardcover)

Anyone who has read Will Carroll's work for Baseball Prospectus or even his weblog has learned more about injuries from him than from every baseball broadcast combined. Unfortunately, he is baseball's only "medhead" so it will take some time to spread the knowledge. Writing a book is the first step.

"Saving The Pitcher" finally gives us a starting point for discussing injuries. It breaks down every component of the pitching motion--that is, what each body part contributes to the motion and proper technique for doing so. Carroll also informs us of what contributes to injuries, warning signs (velocity loss=shoulder; control loss=elbow) and the right training and exercise programs.

While STP is well written, it sometimes reads as a textbook. Although, when you think about it, it really is a textbook of sorts. That isn't to say it's like taking a biology class; Carroll's enthusiasm for baseball shines through to make the book quite enjoyable.

I also would have liked it if he went more in-depth on V-Loss. I suppose he wants to gather more data on it first before formally presenting it, perhaps in a book of its own.

That quibble aside, STP is a great book. Baseball fans should check it out, and every professional, college, high school, and (most importantly) Little League coach should be mandated to read it before being allowed near a young pitcher. Hopefully this is the first of many more volumes from Will Carroll.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Well-Researched, June 10, 2004

By 

"derekjacques" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saving the Pitcher: Preventing Pitcher Injuries in Modern Baseball (Hardcover)

In clear language, Saving The Pitcher explains the biggest issues relating to a pitcher's health, and the combined efforts required of a team's training staff, physician, pitching coach, manager, and the pitcher himself to save the pitcher from injury. Will Carroll systematically goes through the pitching process -- describing the anatomy used in pitching, the mechanics of the pitching motion, the preparation and conditioning a pitcher should use, and the workload to which a pitching arm should be subjected -- to show how injuries can be prevented.

One of the great things about this book is that Carroll is fearless while discussing his subject. The first time Will mentions Leo Mazzone -- the celebrated Atlanta Braves coach who some think could be the first pitching coach in the Hall of Fame -- it's to criticize Mazzone's teachings about a pitcher's ideal follow-through. It's not as if Carroll is a Leo-hater (Will says plenty of complementary things about Mazzone elsewhere in the book) it's simply that Carroll isn't intimidated by any pitching expert, no matter how famous or successful they are, when it comes to talking about pitching injuries.

If you're in any way curious about the types of arm surgery you read about in the sports section of the newspaper, if you have a kid that's getting serious about pitching in Little League or high school, or if you just wonder why that slider you tried out as a teenager was so damn painful to throw, you'll want to get your hands on this book. There's plenty of information for you between these covers.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Primer on Pitching Health, July 16, 2004

By 

Robert Varak - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saving the Pitcher: Preventing Pitcher Injuries in Modern Baseball (Hardcover)

Mr. Carroll does a marvelous job assembling and disseminating the evolving body of knowledge on this topic in a manner which is accessible and engaging. Contrary to the statements made by another recent reviewer, Mr. Carroll _does_ have a background in sports medicine. He relies up on this, but never loses sight of his audience.

This book is invaluable reading for both experts and neophytes alike. Few areas are more misunderstood than the health and training of pitchers, and knowledge of and adherence to the principles espoused by Carroll and his subjects would go a long way toward improving pitchers' health and the overall quality of baseball.

If you love baseball, read it.