By BILL GUTMAN – 1987
P – 108 in the 1937 All Star game Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean had a line drive break his toe. When he tried to come back too soon he had altered his pitching motion and hurt his arm. Do you think he may have been out of the groove? He made the MLB Hall of Fame on his pitching skills. During a game he sometimes would throw the ball behind the batter to keep him loose and not crowd home plate.
P – 88 Christy Mathewson pitching for the N.Y. Giants in the 1905 World Series pitched all 27 innings of three games and shut the Athletics out all three games. This has been unmatched for over 98 years. Was he in the groove? He compiled a 31 – 8 record in 1905.
P – 111 In 1941 while pitching for the Kansas City Monarchs, Leroy “Satchel” Page started thirty games in thirty days. His strong right arm never seemed to tire. He could still throw pretty good at age 59. In 1934 he led an all black team against an All Star team led by “Dizzy” Dean who had just completed a season of 30 wins for the Cardinals. Diz allowed one run and struck out 15. Satch allowed no runs and struck out 17. Was “Satch” in the groove?
P- 86 In 1884 when the other Boston pitcher quit near the middle of the season “Old Hoss” Radbourn pitched the last 38 games by pitching nearly every day. He ended the season with 60 wins and 12 losses with 11 shutouts and an ERA of 1.38. At one point he won 18 straight games. Was he in the groove? Was he consistent? In 1883 he had 49 wins and 25 losses.
Several times Joe “Iron Man” McGinnity pitched both games of double headers. He did this three time in one month winning all games.
The arm, shoulder and elbow are very strong and durable. I believe major league baseball is making a mistake in trying to get young men to believe “overuse” is the cause of all stress, pain, soreness and injuries incurred when throwing a baseball. Look at the durable arms above and the years spent in MLB. Shortened careers are caused by errors in the mechanics of the player when making a throw or making a pitch, not by overuse.
