Adam Ottavino is one of several Rockies pitchers who has undergone Tommy John surgery in order to keep his baseball career alive.
(Denver Post file)
Rockies right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino is coming back from Tommy John surgery.
Tyler Chatwood is coming back from his second TJ surgery, the first coming when he was in high school.
Jorge De La Rosa had the surgery, too.
But that’s not the whole story … not the big story.
This is: Responsible youth baseball coaches consider overuse injuries in high school pitchers (and even young kids) as an epidemic. They are seeing boys as young as age 14 going under the knife.
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) is taking steps to prevent future injuries by implementing a pioneering rule which puts high school pitchers in Colorado on a pitch count that goes into effect this spring.
As part of an on-going effort to boost education around the overuse of arms, It includes comments from a variety of experts, including Rockies head trainer Keith Dugger, and former big-league pitchers Jon Smoltz, Jason Hirsch and Mark Knudson. Longtime Cherry Creek High School coach Marc Johnson.
If you have a son or daughter involved in youth baseball or youth softball, please watch the video.
