Short version: they harvest a ligament from somewhere else on the body to replace the damaged ligament. Named after pitcher Tommy John who thought his career was over, before getting this experimental surgery and against the odds, he was able to continue for several years after the fact. Although medical science as come a long way and many do recover. It's still a possibility of a career ending injury.
One of the most awful arm blowouts was, to my knowledge, not even recorded. Aaron Barrett, a relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, was recovering from a previous arm injury and throwing at a practice. His bone broke so bad it almost broke completely in half. Some of his teammates who were watching him threw up and even fainted at the sight of his arm. Amazingly, he recovered and came back to the team after about 4 years of rehab last year.
They srent crying because "season over or a few months out" its because there is a pretty high chance that they will never be anywhere close to the same again
Throwing over hand in general isn't a "natural" motion and to do hundreds upon hundreds of times at the level of stress baseball players put it under is greatly increasing your risk of ligaments tearing. Granted at the same time, There are people who seemingly take care of their arm the best they can it still happens but doesn't to others. While sometimes it can happen at a pretty young age for seemingly no reason. Ligaments aren't something you can really "make stronger" you have the same strength ligaments as a professional baseball player does. --- There's also a reason why fast pitch softball pitchers seemingly throw complete games every time they take the mound because chucking it underhand fast is a natural motion.
Sharpie yeah everyone says it isn’t but it definitely is, people have been throwing since there were people. Throwing max effort for 100+ pitches isn’t natural
David Atwood that’s not true at all. Idk where you heard that but it happens to everyone not just sidearmers. In fact a lot of pitchers switch a side arm motion because it doesn’t hurt much for them
Sean that's exactly what happened to me, had a full scholarship to play ball in 2016, mid way through my first season I switched to submarine because it wouldn't make my elbow hurt as much. Hung up the spikes after that.
Tommy John Surgery: "Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery, is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a dead donor."
@@jacobs4363 And since those ligaments are stronger than the one being replaced, they often come back stronger. But it takes about a year, give or take.
you should react to more baseball videos by SB Nation they have alot more quality videos and started a six part series about the Seattle Mariners Franchise
Danny Salazar had to retire early after a series of arm injuries and never being able to fix them. He was a Starting Pitcher that constantly threw over 97 MPH. He was an All star pitcher in 2016 and got injured before playing in the All Star game. He went from throwing over 100 MPH to struggling to reach 86 MPH and retiring in his mid 20's. If theres any video on him you should react because his stuff was amazing and people thought he'd be the next big name in baseball and athletes in general.
@@brandonmichael6578 Indians gave him one more shot last year and they mutually agreed to part ways and he's been without a team for a while but I think he cant throw over 86 MPH anymore so he probably will retire soon.
I’m surprised that Dave Dravecky of the San Francisco Giants wasn’t in this. He had cancer in his arm and I believe went into remission (not sure) then came back to play. This was during the 1989 season where the Giants ended up going to the World Series. His last pitch ever was him snapping/popping his arm. It was so loud that the catcher actually heard it. He later had to have his arm and part of his shoulder amputated. I vividly remember his last pitch.
As a San Francisco Giants fan Dave Dravecky came to mind for me as well. I remember watching it on tv when he broke his arm. Nasty injury and a seemingly cruel twist of fate.
The worst arm injury I've ever seen was by Dave Dravecky, a pitcher for the Giants. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer in his throwing arm, and in addition to removing the tumor, doctors froze the bone to kill off any remaining cancer cells. He tried to make a comeback in 1989, but in his second game in the majors that season his humerus snapped in two. They say it could be heard throughout the stadium. The bone had been weakened both by the cancer and the treatment. Dravecky was unable to play from then on, but he stayed with the team anyway (not on the roster, though). The Giants went to the World Series that year. He participated in the team celebrations when they won the NLCS, during which his arm broke again. Doctors determined that the cancer had returned. Dravecky retired from baseball, and eventually his left arm and shoulder were amputated. Dave Dravecky is still with us at the age of 64. He has written a few books, and has also worked as a motivational speaker.
I've injured my arm before. Tore the tendons. It feels like someone is drill a burning hot wire through ur entire arm and snapping it over and over again
Normally these types of pitching injuries are torn ligaments in the elbow and forearm area. Since a lot of the pitching motions in baseball are not natural, it puts immense stress on the arm, which can lead to injuries lnjuries like this if the arm has not been stretched properly.
Dave Dravecky came back after getting cancer removed from his pitching shoulder for the San Francisco Giants in 1989. A few starts after his return, his arm snapped due to not all the cancer getting removed, resulting in his arm getting amputated.
Look up "Tommy John surgery", most pitchers have it nowadays. It used to be super rare. Generally, shoulder/elbow injuries most common. Injuries more common among pitchers who throw really hard. Hard throwers have shorter careers for two reasons: (1) arm injuries/damage, (2) they rely on throwing hard and can't get anyone out when they lose velocity. Some pitchers adapt. Most do not. Knuckleballs are very easy on the arm, so knuckleballers will pitch into their mid-40s. Some pitchers retain velocity into their late 30s. Justin Verlander is 36 and still throwing mid-90s. When Nolan Ryan was 70, he threw out a ceremonial first pitch, and it was measured at 86 (yes, 86) miles per hour. That's 20 MPH faster than anyone reading this could throw. Randy Johnson was still throwing 98 MPH at age 40, but he's an extreme exception to the rule
3:08 That ended up being the last pitch of his big league career. He blew it out again a year later during a rehab game and was forced to retire at 26.
Luka, I couldn’t watch this whole video. I’m sorry for that. For me, when I was 28, I was playing in a 28 and up wood bat league (literally an amateur baseball league that uses wood bats). I was a pitcher. When throwing a slider (breaking pitch with a sideways and down motion) my humerus suffered a spiral fracture in the middle and a clean break near the bottom. The initial feeling was numbness and a disconnected feeling. I suffered nerve damage, and I believe this was the feeling of that injury. It quickly changed to an intense sharp pain as the top portion of my humerus came into contact with the back of my bicep. The ball ended up by the visiting dugout (where the players stand when not on the field). I hit the ground and went into shock. Once in shock my entire body, although a great feeling of tingling was felt in my face, went numb. I still screamed in pain, but my body was starting to fight back. I was lucky the bone did not puncture my bicep and forearm. Through surgery I have a titanium rod, plate and screws holding that arm together. The lasting nerve damage is mild numbness in my dominant hand thumb and pointer finger. I have my dexterity and my strength back, though. I quit playing ball when this happened. That was 7 years ago. Thanks for doing the videos and learning American Sports to the degree in which you do. I am a father to a 2 year old and I work way too much. I have not been getting the opportunity to share my love of the game of baseball with many people. Through these videos, I feel like I’m actively doing so. Your reactions are genuine and your spirit is amazing. Thanks for being you, dude. As a suggestion, Foolish Baseball (amazing baseball content all around) did a video on “the greatest inning ever pitched” featuring Justin Verlander and an amazing inning he pitched when angry. Very scientific video which I’m sure you’ll enjoy a learn a lot from.
Russell Griner sorry you went through all that, it sounds terrible. I’m a relatively new baseball fan, only started watching last year in May (despite my dad trying to get me to watch since I was little and I was 18 last year). Hope your child gets into the game, and thanks for sharing your story!
Jerry do all of you guys remember everything you are always told, especially in school where material may be brand new to you? I bet not. give him a break
Dave Dravecky's injury in 1989 was the worst; his arm was ultimately amputated. Extenuating circumstances, though; he had a cancerous tumor removed from his pitching arm in 1988, then tried to come back too soon. The bone between his shoulder and elbow literally snapped in two when he threw a pitch; apparently it could be heard throughout the ballpark.
In many, many cases it's either a career injury or they come back well over a year later and they're never the same. There are some success stories though. One of which is a player from my favorite team: Stephen Strasburg. He debuted with so much hype, then he blew his arm out and needed surgery.. but when he came back the team strictly limited his workload, even barring him from pitching in the playoffs at first few seasons, until they were confident he had built himself back up over several years. Just this past year, the team won the World Series and Strasburg was awarded World Series MVP, nearly a decade after his original injury.
I'm sure there's a video on the pitcher Tommy John. Ligament replacement surgery is commonly called Tommy John surgery named after him. He was the first pitcher with this kind of injury who got that surgery and was able to return to the majors just as good as he ever was. It takes about a year to recover from the procedure and some never really come back. But modern fastballs require so much energy that this injury has become commonplace and a LOT of pitchers have had it, sometimes twice, and sometimes they even come back stronger.
Arm injuries come from three sources, strike injuries from a ball striking a player, or the player hitting something with his hand while throwing. Tendon injuries, probably most common, usually the elbow. Bone breaks, which do happen to some pitchers. One of the reasons the older players are reacting so emotionally is that a serious arm injury after 30 almost always ends a career.
Sometimes you’ll get a shoulder injury (e.g. torn rotator cuff), sometimes a bicep or muscle tear, or sometimes even a broken bone (spontaneous fracture of the humerus in upper arm), but most of these “blowouts” are torn ligaments in the elbow from the 1000s x 1000s repetitive snapping iterations of the arm throwing with such force. Weirdly, if there’s not a big crowd or just a lull in the overall cacophony you can often hear the “snap” from the crowd.
What the whole injury is is the ucl in your elbow basically gets shredded by all the pitching that said pitcher has done over the years, they give “Tommy John surgery” what that is is where they take tendon that is not critical from your leg and they replace the torn tendon with the new tendon.
My stepdad played semi pro ball, and my step brother played semi pro and signed for the MLB. My stepdad eventually threw out his arm, and my step bro threw out his arm a few months prior to starting pro ball. He tore multiple ligaments, had multiple surgeries and was no longer able to move forward with his dream of playing pro ball. Many years of training just to have it all thrown in garbage. They're both thankful they didn't bank their entire future on playing pro ball like many prospective athletes do.....Always good to have another plan to fall back to.
Hey Luka, you asked if this results in Career ending injuries. I believe the pitcher at 5:15 Ramon Ortiz never played another MLB game after that injury. He tried to make a minor league comeback but was never good enough again. This may bring new meaning to his reaction
The best way I can describe it is that your arm goes numb, and then it feels like a jammed shoulder, but 100x worse. It also hurts to walk, which is why they are walking so slow, because when you walk, your arm absorbs some shock and that doesn’t help.
The part of the arm that's blowing out is the UCL, or the muscle, or the muscle that holds your bicep and hamate together. It's snapping motion like a rubberband is where most speed comes from in a pitch, and it basically snaps just like a rubberband that's been used too much or pulled too hard.
i've never done it myself but one of the highschool teammates tore his UCL pitching, and for him he had very little pain, he just felt a pop and his arm just numb and he could move it
I had tendinitis once from pitching and it got so bad that I couldn't raise my arm above my waist out of pain. So I can't fathom how painful this must be.
Dave Dravecky....worst arm injury by far. He was a pitcher for the Padres and Giants in the 80’s. Had cancer in his pitching arm to which he recovered and began pitching again in 1989. In one of his first starts, he broke his arm by just pitching. It was gruesome and supposedly you could hear it break in the stands. He later re-broke it that year when he was only celebrating with his teammates for winning the pennant (he had not returned to the active roster). It was found that the cancer had returned and he had to have his left arm amputated.
I had to get tommy john surgery to repair my ucl my freshman year in high school. It’s literally the worst feeling tearing your ucl, all I felt was sharp pain in my elbow radiating to my hand and from my elbow to my hand it went numb. And the worst part is that sometimes you have to do rehab for about 6 months at the most and I didn’t get to play for 1 1/2 years.
Not sure if you’ll see this one but I have ligament damage in my right elbow from years of pitching. Never had it surgically repaired because the damage occurred during my senior year of college so I was already going to be finished playing baseball and the damage wasn’t so severe it needed repair. However even til today, 3 years later I still have a tingling sensation in my elbow, and every now and then I wake up with numbness in my right arm and pins and needles in my finger tips. I’m assuming the damage has worsened over the years but I have not gone back to a doctor to check it out and see so I won’t really know for sure. A lot of these injuries though vary pitcher to pitcher/player to player. Some are doubled over in pain, some walk it off, but the damage is still always the same and it always means they’re done for at least one year of playing baseball, sometimes more. Keep doing your thing Luka!
Most of these players can come back from this type of surgery after about 1-1.5 seasons, sometimes a little less. But thing is, you’re likely never gonna be quite as good, and you may reinjure. Plus if you are a borderline pro, the team isn’t gonna waste a spot or money when you weren’t that good to begin with and may never be full strength or skill again
This happened to me playing high school ball. I tore an elbow tendon. It's an intense, sharp and burning pain from your bicep to your finger tips. My right hand went numb after about a minute. My arm was limp and useless for 2-3 months. I wasn't a pro with a multimillion $ contract so I didn't have surgery. I still get tennis elbow from just throwing a ball around the yard.
Nowadays, most players can make a full recovery from this kind of injury, which is a UCL (elbow ligament) tear. The issue is that the MINIMUM recovery time is 12 months.
My aunt who played softball and My cousin(16) and little sister(13) who play in the same league are all pitchers. Pitchers don't last long and and if they have to take really good care of that arm. Seeing them take a hit to the head or blow a shoulder is one of my biggest fears.
I played baseball for 17 years started when I was 5 I was a catcher, around the time I was 14, and playing in 3-4 games a day 4 days a week my arm started to tingle and go numb, fast forward to when I was 17 playing for my high school varsity team, while throwing down to second I heard it pop and shooting pain went straight to my elbow, I couldn’t lift my arm. I didn’t say a word and played another year and a half I lost all power and speed on the ball and after each throw to second either In practice or in a game I would turn 180° and wince with extreme pain. I never said anything because I knew I wouldn’t play again and I’d rather play through the worst pain and try and enjoy it. Now knowing that was stupid because my fingers go numb for days at a time and when I sleep I can’t lift my arm above my head. The things we do to play a game I am now 25 and have pain in my elbow and shoulder almost everyday and if I even attempt to mess around with buddies and throw a ball, when I release a sharp almost electric shock runs down my shoulder into my finger tips. The most awful feeling. Sucks to play your whole life and to practice to finally make it and to blow out your arm I feel bad for these guys. I know the feeling.
Not sure about these examples, but ulnar nerve impingement is a thing too. I get it occasionally, basically move wrong one day and squeeze the ulnar nerve and there's a lighting shock down my arm; it's sharp but short and afterwards there's a pins and needles sensation that lessens to just numbness for a day or two. If I was pitching, that ends it... no control over the ring and little fingers on that hand. I get the feeling that the UCL tear that Tommy John surgery repairs causes this sensation but constantly. I'd crumple to a heap too if I felt like the outside of one of my hands was in a fire...
And the pain. this happened to my father and he said it feels like you're repeatedly being stabbed in the arm and since he cant afford the surgery he feels this pain anytime he throws
Most of these are a torn tendon in the elbow. Tomy John surgery usually means that the pitcher won't be playing for a year. Most of the time it's either a numb feeling in your ring and pinky fingers to a sharp pain
The reason that Ramon Ortiz was so gutted was because he had been plagued with injuries before, and he was going to retire anyway, given his age (42). He basically wanted to just have one season where he didn't get injured, and that injury ended his career.
it would be too long to react to, but there is a really interesting documentary called "fastball" that examines some of the hardest throwing pitchers of all time that you would probably enjoy
Also most of these are UCL tears (which is in the elbow) I've luckily never torn it, but I imagine when it does snap..bad enough that you instantly know....it probably feels like the entire arm just lost all it's strength which is why you'll see them grab different parts but typically end up on the elbow.
While its very hard to come back from those injuries, it is possible. Pitcher Stephen Strasburg, this past season’s World Series MVP and arguably the reason why the Nationals won the World Series had Tommy John Surgery early in his career, came back, and had a great career since. He lost some of his throwing speed but he adapted his game to make up for it.
Usually they tare a ligament in their elbow that requires Tommy John surgery. It takes around a year to come back and longer to be back at full strength
It’s normally a muscle tearing and snapping. I was a ball player in high school I tore my rotator cuff it was kind of sharp at first. But then it’s like a numb pain through your whole arm. I never got surgery or anything because it wasn’t necessary for everyday life I just had to build it back. Sometimes depending on the weather I still get a numb pain in my shoulder and elbow. If I throw a ball the same pain runs through my arm. I can not even throw a ball anymore if I do not want to be in extreme pain. It’s really sad.
I had sudden pain from pitching a few times, but nothing that ended up being serious. On the other hand, I ignored a bit of an ache in my shoulder and it led to a torn rotator cuff. No more pitching for me. It's weird how that works, but even without much pain cumulative damage can be just as bad or worse than a quick snap.
5:46 Luka, thats Ramon Ortiz, then pitcher with my Toronto Blue Jays. He was already into his 40s when this happened. He was fuming and in tears because he believed this was his last shot in the Majors, and it basically was. I don't think he ever pitched in the big leagues again after this
I have blown out my elbow throwing a baseball and it’s the worst pain by far in my life. I’ve broken my leg and ark and nothing will compare to blowing you elbow out
This happened to me in college, went to throw a hard slider and I heard a very loud pop, but felt a tearing/crack if that makes sense following by intense stinging/burning pain, like a hot knife sticking and jiggling in your arm, it was horrible and seemed like it lasted for ever but I don’t remember too much pain on the way to the hospital, but there was for sure. Worst feeling injury in the entire world
Nearly every single arm injury is a ligament injury, which just happens over time, which means there really isn’t a way to prevent it. It happens to some guys at a young age, while others never tear there ligaments
When you throw the ball it puts alot of strain on the ligaments in your arm and depending how bad the injury is it could result in surgery on the elbow ligaments or shouler
Didn't see this in the comments, so the reason Ortiz was so upset (5:55) is because he was 39/40 when this happened. He knew it was career ending and he never pitched in MLB again
Yea this is rough, I’m 15 and I snapped the growth plate in my upper arm/shoulder by throwing, couldn’t move it from the pain, felt like my arm was on fire. Took me 2 months to realize it wasn’t a muscle tear🤷♂️😂 ended my season but it got cancelled anyway from a certain sickness going around. I’m cleared now and working to get better for summer👍
1:22 Tony Saunders, a left handed pitcher for the Devil Rays. He had to retire due to breaking his arm. He broke it in 1999 then rehabbed and attempted to come back in 2000 and rebroke the same arm and retired. It's been rumored through the years his arm kept breaking from steroids but there's never been (at least to my knowledge) any physical evidence to prove that.
So I recently tore my UCL. It’s the ligament on the inner corner of your elbow. Pretty much the equivalent to the ACL in knees. It occurs mostly in softball and baseball, but often in any overhand sport. Mine was a gradual tear due to not resting it. So watching these makes me cringe I would describe mine as a tearing or a burning pain. A numbness into the fingers and mine went into the bicep. Then it gets incredibly swollen and for UCLs specifically you tend to get a little bump on the inner part of your elbow. Shit sucks
Often people can come back from these injuries but it takes a long time, with surgery, rehab, and sometimes their ability is diminished after they recover.
Most severe arm injuries happen in the elbow, usually it's the UCL that snaps/tears. It requires Tommy John surgery (I suggest looking it up in your own time) to fix and the recovery time is on average 17 months. There's an 80% chance of coming back from surgery and being as good as you were (even a couple rare cases of guys throwing harder after) but for young players especially, it takes over a year away from their development which can sometimes lead to them not being able to every reach their full potential. My friend unfortunately was in the other 20%. He was throwing 65MPH at 13 in 2017 when he tore his UCL in the first game of the season. He came back at the end of 2018 but he can hardly hit 50MPH now and he can't throw for extended periods without feeling pain in his elbow.
That reminds me of the case of R.A. Dickey, he got drafted by the Texas Rangers, they signed him to an $810,000 contract. But then a trainer noticed in a picture of him with the pitchers of the US Olympic team: his elbow hung lower and suggested they get it checked. Turns out he had no UCL, a rare deformity. So he should be in constant pain but it somehow was never an issue.Texas rescinded the contract, they ended up signing him to a minor league contract worth $75,000. It took him many years but he would eventually make the majors and had a decent career. Even won the 2012 Cy Young award as the National League's best pitcher.
I had tommy John surgery, it did not feel good at all, as soon as I released the ball it felt like a rubber band snapped in my elbow right next to the funny bone and felt like u just popped a cold water balloon with all the water rushing in. Arm pain is no joke.
One of my teammates sophomore year was pitching and blew his arm out. He never played another game after that. It's a shame because he easily would've played college ball
Luka, if you want to see a truly elite shooter who shoots 3s WHILE MOVING I’d love to see you react to JJ Redick 2017-2018 highlights he made a whole career from taking difficult and odd shots hardly anyone is history can do
If you don’t know what “Tommy John” surgery is, I suggest learning about it on your own time. That’s the surgery most of these injuries result in
This right here.
To come back from tommy john surgery as a pitcher is around 12-15 months
Short version: they harvest a ligament from somewhere else on the body to replace the damaged ligament. Named after pitcher Tommy John who thought his career was over, before getting this experimental surgery and against the odds, he was able to continue for several years after the fact. Although medical science as come a long way and many do recover. It's still a possibility of a career ending injury.
It is usually Torn Ligaments in their arm, almost always requires Tommy John Surgery to repair the Ligaments.
One of the most awful arm blowouts was, to my knowledge, not even recorded. Aaron Barrett, a relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, was recovering from a previous arm injury and throwing at a practice. His bone broke so bad it almost broke completely in half. Some of his teammates who were watching him threw up and even fainted at the sight of his arm. Amazingly, he recovered and came back to the team after about 4 years of rehab last year.
That's f'd. I did not know
Damn
Dave draveckey was the worst ever. Did it twice and lost his arm
@@tanakinskywalker7089 LOST it?
They srent crying because "season over or a few months out" its because there is a pretty high chance that they will never be anywhere close to the same again
Throwing over hand in general isn't a "natural" motion and to do hundreds upon hundreds of times at the level of stress baseball players put it under is greatly increasing your risk of ligaments tearing.
Granted at the same time, There are people who seemingly take care of their arm the best they can it still happens but doesn't to others. While sometimes it can happen at a pretty young age for seemingly no reason. Ligaments aren't something you can really "make stronger" you have the same strength ligaments as a professional baseball player does.
---
There's also a reason why fast pitch softball pitchers seemingly throw complete games every time they take the mound because chucking it underhand fast is a natural motion.
throwing over hand is a natural motion
Sharpie yeah everyone says it isn’t but it definitely is, people have been throwing since there were people. Throwing max effort for 100+ pitches isn’t natural
Its usually side arm pitchers that have tommy john and have these injuries
David Atwood that’s not true at all. Idk where you heard that but it happens to everyone not just sidearmers. In fact a lot of pitchers switch a side arm motion because it doesn’t hurt much for them
Sean that's exactly what happened to me, had a full scholarship to play ball in 2016, mid way through my first season I switched to submarine because it wouldn't make my elbow hurt as much. Hung up the spikes after that.
Tommy John Surgery: "Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery, is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a dead donor."
Yes. It's named after the pitcher who was the first to get the surgery.
It’s usually an autograft so it comes from the hamstring or quads
@@jacobs4363 And since those ligaments are stronger than the one being replaced, they often come back stronger. But it takes about a year, give or take.
you should react to more baseball videos by SB Nation they have alot more quality videos and started a six part series about the Seattle Mariners Franchise
Sean Mayberry Yesss, John Bois is soooo good. I love the 222-0 Georgia Tech vs Cumberland college football game
Danny Salazar had to retire early after a series of arm injuries and never being able to fix them. He was a Starting Pitcher that constantly threw over 97 MPH. He was an All star pitcher in 2016 and got injured before playing in the All Star game. He went from throwing over 100 MPH to struggling to reach 86 MPH and retiring in his mid 20's. If theres any video on him you should react because his stuff was amazing and people thought he'd be the next big name in baseball and athletes in general.
DAMN. He actually retired?
Lee Akrish him and miller were beasts in ‘16, and they’re both out of baseball not even 4 years later
@@brandonmichael6578 Indians gave him one more shot last year and they mutually agreed to part ways and he's been without a team for a while but I think he cant throw over 86 MPH anymore so he probably will retire soon.
So, so sad. I've been a huge Tribe fan since I was 5 and they've got holes in the rotation Salazar could've done so much for the franchise
Brandon Michael Miller is not out of baseball he is on the cardinals
I’m surprised that Dave Dravecky of the San Francisco Giants wasn’t in this. He had cancer in his arm and I believe went into remission (not sure) then came back to play. This was during the 1989 season where the Giants ended up going to the World Series. His last pitch ever was him snapping/popping his arm. It was so loud that the catcher actually heard it. He later had to have his arm and part of his shoulder amputated. I vividly remember his last pitch.
As a San Francisco Giants fan Dave Dravecky came to mind for me as well. I remember watching it on tv when he broke his arm. Nasty injury and a seemingly cruel twist of fate.
I believe that Reds lefty Tom Browning also broke his arm pitching against the Padres a couple of decades ago.
The worst arm injury I've ever seen was by Dave Dravecky, a pitcher for the Giants. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer in his throwing arm, and in addition to removing the tumor, doctors froze the bone to kill off any remaining cancer cells. He tried to make a comeback in 1989, but in his second game in the majors that season his humerus snapped in two. They say it could be heard throughout the stadium. The bone had been weakened both by the cancer and the treatment.
Dravecky was unable to play from then on, but he stayed with the team anyway (not on the roster, though). The Giants went to the World Series that year. He participated in the team celebrations when they won the NLCS, during which his arm broke again. Doctors determined that the cancer had returned. Dravecky retired from baseball, and eventually his left arm and shoulder were amputated.
Dave Dravecky is still with us at the age of 64. He has written a few books, and has also worked as a motivational speaker.
I've injured my arm before. Tore the tendons. It feels like someone is drill a burning hot wire through ur entire arm and snapping it over and over again
^^^
I can't imagine, dude. Goddam.
Normally these types of pitching injuries are torn ligaments in the elbow and forearm area. Since a lot of the pitching motions in baseball are not natural, it puts immense stress on the arm, which can lead to injuries lnjuries like this if the arm has not been stretched properly.
Dave Dravecky came back after getting cancer removed from his pitching shoulder for the San Francisco Giants in 1989. A few starts after his return, his arm snapped due to not all the cancer getting removed, resulting in his arm getting amputated.
I can definitely tell you're learning more and more about Baseball!! Love your reactions especially the baseball ones :)
NHL: odd puck moments or NHL: strange goals
Look up "Tommy John surgery", most pitchers have it nowadays. It used to be super rare.
Generally, shoulder/elbow injuries most common. Injuries more common among pitchers who throw really hard. Hard throwers have shorter careers for two reasons: (1) arm injuries/damage, (2) they rely on throwing hard and can't get anyone out when they lose velocity. Some pitchers adapt. Most do not. Knuckleballs are very easy on the arm, so knuckleballers will pitch into their mid-40s.
Some pitchers retain velocity into their late 30s. Justin Verlander is 36 and still throwing mid-90s. When Nolan Ryan was 70, he threw out a ceremonial first pitch, and it was measured at 86 (yes, 86) miles per hour. That's 20 MPH faster than anyone reading this could throw. Randy Johnson was still throwing 98 MPH at age 40, but he's an extreme exception to the rule
3:08
That ended up being the last pitch of his big league career. He blew it out again a year later during a rehab game and was forced to retire at 26.
Luka, I couldn’t watch this whole video. I’m sorry for that. For me, when I was 28, I was playing in a 28 and up wood bat league (literally an amateur baseball league that uses wood bats). I was a pitcher. When throwing a slider (breaking pitch with a sideways and down motion) my humerus suffered a spiral fracture in the middle and a clean break near the bottom. The initial feeling was numbness and a disconnected feeling. I suffered nerve damage, and I believe this was the feeling of that injury. It quickly changed to an intense sharp pain as the top portion of my humerus came into contact with the back of my bicep.
The ball ended up by the visiting dugout (where the players stand when not on the field). I hit the ground and went into shock. Once in shock my entire body, although a great feeling of tingling was felt in my face, went numb. I still screamed in pain, but my body was starting to fight back.
I was lucky the bone did not puncture my bicep and forearm. Through surgery I have a titanium rod, plate and screws holding that arm together. The lasting nerve damage is mild numbness in my dominant hand thumb and pointer finger. I have my dexterity and my strength back, though.
I quit playing ball when this happened. That was 7 years ago.
Thanks for doing the videos and learning American Sports to the degree in which you do. I am a father to a 2 year old and I work way too much. I have not been getting the opportunity to share my love of the game of baseball with many people. Through these videos, I feel like I’m actively doing so. Your reactions are genuine and your spirit is amazing. Thanks for being you, dude.
As a suggestion, Foolish Baseball (amazing baseball content all around) did a video on “the greatest inning ever pitched” featuring Justin Verlander and an amazing inning he pitched when angry. Very scientific video which I’m sure you’ll enjoy a learn a lot from.
Russell Griner sorry you went through all that, it sounds terrible.
I’m a relatively new baseball fan, only started watching last year in May (despite my dad trying to get me to watch since I was little and I was 18 last year). Hope your child gets into the game, and thanks for sharing your story!
When this happens it could be career ending because the recovery time is over a year and the player may never be the same
e.g. Cliff Lee
@@SpeedWarrior93 Lee was getting old regardless. It just accelerated his decline.
What happened to Saunders is every baseball pitcher's worst nightmare
Its the elbow!!! Not the shoulder! The video you watched literally explained that
He never listens or pays attention. But hey at least he’s got a green screen.
He doesn’t listen to the commentators
Jerry do all of you guys remember everything you are always told, especially in school where material may be brand new to you? I bet not. give him a break
@@moogumb2526 just because you weren't a good student doesn't mean others have bad memories
A Magical Rock you know what magical rock, you are right
When are you going to react to MLB Productions presents: Game 162?
REACT TO ROBBING HOME RUNS!!!!! IVE BEEN ASKING FOR WEEEEEEKS!!!!!
Dave Dravecky's injury in 1989 was the worst; his arm was ultimately amputated. Extenuating circumstances, though; he had a cancerous tumor removed from his pitching arm in 1988, then tried to come back too soon. The bone between his shoulder and elbow literally snapped in two when he threw a pitch; apparently it could be heard throughout the ballpark.
In many, many cases it's either a career injury or they come back well over a year later and they're never the same.
There are some success stories though. One of which is a player from my favorite team: Stephen Strasburg. He debuted with so much hype, then he blew his arm out and needed surgery.. but when he came back the team strictly limited his workload, even barring him from pitching in the playoffs at first few seasons, until they were confident he had built himself back up over several years.
Just this past year, the team won the World Series and Strasburg was awarded World Series MVP, nearly a decade after his original injury.
Please react to more baseball stuff! Specifically a Derek Jeter Best Plays/Moments video.
I'm sure there's a video on the pitcher Tommy John. Ligament replacement surgery is commonly called Tommy John surgery named after him. He was the first pitcher with this kind of injury who got that surgery and was able to return to the majors just as good as he ever was.
It takes about a year to recover from the procedure and some never really come back. But modern fastballs require so much energy that this injury has become commonplace and a LOT of pitchers have had it, sometimes twice, and sometimes they even come back stronger.
Arm injuries come from three sources, strike injuries from a ball striking a player, or the player hitting something with his hand while throwing. Tendon injuries, probably most common, usually the elbow. Bone breaks, which do happen to some pitchers. One of the reasons the older players are reacting so emotionally is that a serious arm injury after 30 almost always ends a career.
Sometimes you’ll get a shoulder injury (e.g. torn rotator cuff), sometimes a bicep or muscle tear, or sometimes even a broken bone (spontaneous fracture of the humerus in upper arm), but most of these “blowouts” are torn ligaments in the elbow from the 1000s x 1000s repetitive snapping iterations of the arm throwing with such force. Weirdly, if there’s not a big crowd or just a lull in the overall cacophony you can often hear the “snap” from the crowd.
What the whole injury is is the ucl in your elbow basically gets shredded by all the pitching that said pitcher has done over the years, they give “Tommy John surgery” what that is is where they take tendon that is not critical from your leg and they replace the torn tendon with the new tendon.
My stepdad played semi pro ball, and my step brother played semi pro and signed for the MLB. My stepdad eventually threw out his arm, and my step bro threw out his arm a few months prior to starting pro ball. He tore multiple ligaments, had multiple surgeries and was no longer able to move forward with his dream of playing pro ball. Many years of training just to have it all thrown in garbage. They're both thankful they didn't bank their entire future on playing pro ball like many prospective athletes do.....Always good to have another plan to fall back to.
Hey Luka, you asked if this results in Career ending injuries. I believe the pitcher at 5:15 Ramon Ortiz never played another MLB game after that injury. He tried to make a minor league comeback but was never good enough again. This may bring new meaning to his reaction
The best way I can describe it is that your arm goes numb, and then it feels like a jammed shoulder, but 100x worse. It also hurts to walk, which is why they are walking so slow, because when you walk, your arm absorbs some shock and that doesn’t help.
The part of the arm that's blowing out is the UCL, or the muscle, or the muscle that holds your bicep and hamate together. It's snapping motion like a rubberband is where most speed comes from in a pitch, and it basically snaps just like a rubberband that's been used too much or pulled too hard.
Arm blowouts are ligaments in your elbow snapping and go up thru the arm
i've never done it myself but one of the highschool teammates tore his UCL pitching, and for him he had very little pain, he just felt a pop and his arm just numb and he could move it
I had tendinitis once from pitching and it got so bad that I couldn't raise my arm above my waist out of pain. So I can't fathom how painful this must be.
Dave Dravecky....worst arm injury by far. He was a pitcher for the Padres and Giants in the 80’s. Had cancer in his pitching arm to which he recovered and began pitching again in 1989. In one of his first starts, he broke his arm by just pitching. It was gruesome and supposedly you could hear it break in the stands. He later re-broke it that year when he was only celebrating with his teammates for winning the pennant (he had not returned to the active roster). It was found that the cancer had returned and he had to have his left arm amputated.
I had to get tommy john surgery to repair my ucl my freshman year in high school. It’s literally the worst feeling tearing your ucl, all I felt was sharp pain in my elbow radiating to my hand and from my elbow to my hand it went numb. And the worst part is that sometimes you have to do rehab for about 6 months at the most and I didn’t get to play for 1 1/2 years.
You should react to MLB ejections where coaches argue bad calls from the umpire
Not sure if you’ll see this one but I have ligament damage in my right elbow from years of pitching. Never had it surgically repaired because the damage occurred during my senior year of college so I was already going to be finished playing baseball and the damage wasn’t so severe it needed repair. However even til today, 3 years later I still have a tingling sensation in my elbow, and every now and then I wake up with numbness in my right arm and pins and needles in my finger tips. I’m assuming the damage has worsened over the years but I have not gone back to a doctor to check it out and see so I won’t really know for sure. A lot of these injuries though vary pitcher to pitcher/player to player. Some are doubled over in pain, some walk it off, but the damage is still always the same and it always means they’re done for at least one year of playing baseball, sometimes more. Keep doing your thing Luka!
Most of these players can come back from this type of surgery after about 1-1.5 seasons, sometimes a little less. But thing is, you’re likely never gonna be quite as good, and you may reinjure. Plus if you are a borderline pro, the team isn’t gonna waste a spot or money when you weren’t that good to begin with and may never be full strength or skill again
This happened to me playing high school ball. I tore an elbow tendon. It's an intense, sharp and burning pain from your bicep to your finger tips. My right hand went numb after about a minute. My arm was limp and useless for 2-3 months. I wasn't a pro with a multimillion $ contract so I didn't have surgery. I still get tennis elbow from just throwing a ball around the yard.
Nowadays, most players can make a full recovery from this kind of injury, which is a UCL (elbow ligament) tear. The issue is that the MINIMUM recovery time is 12 months.
My aunt who played softball and My cousin(16) and little sister(13) who play in the same league are all pitchers. Pitchers don't last long and and if they have to take really good care of that arm. Seeing them take a hit to the head or blow a shoulder is one of my biggest fears.
I played baseball for 17 years started when I was 5 I was a catcher, around the time I was 14, and playing in 3-4 games a day 4 days a week my arm started to tingle and go numb, fast forward to when I was 17 playing for my high school varsity team, while throwing down to second I heard it pop and shooting pain went straight to my elbow, I couldn’t lift my arm. I didn’t say a word and played another year and a half I lost all power and speed on the ball and after each throw to second either In practice or in a game I would turn 180° and wince with extreme pain. I never said anything because I knew I wouldn’t play again and I’d rather play through the worst pain and try and enjoy it. Now knowing that was stupid because my fingers go numb for days at a time and when I sleep I can’t lift my arm above my head. The things we do to play a game I am now 25 and have pain in my elbow and shoulder almost everyday and if I even attempt to mess around with buddies and throw a ball, when I release a sharp almost electric shock runs down my shoulder into my finger tips. The most awful feeling. Sucks to play your whole life and to practice to finally make it and to blow out your arm I feel bad for these guys. I know the feeling.
Not sure about these examples, but ulnar nerve impingement is a thing too. I get it occasionally, basically move wrong one day and squeeze the ulnar nerve and there's a lighting shock down my arm; it's sharp but short and afterwards there's a pins and needles sensation that lessens to just numbness for a day or two. If I was pitching, that ends it... no control over the ring and little fingers on that hand.
I get the feeling that the UCL tear that Tommy John surgery repairs causes this sensation but constantly. I'd crumple to a heap too if I felt like the outside of one of my hands was in a fire...
And the pain. this happened to my father and he said it feels like you're repeatedly being stabbed in the arm and since he cant afford the surgery he feels this pain anytime he throws
Most of these are a torn tendon in the elbow. Tomy John surgery usually means that the pitcher won't be playing for a year. Most of the time it's either a numb feeling in your ring and pinky fingers to a sharp pain
It is when some of your ligaments in your arm tear and your arm can’t throw or use your arm until you get surgery
The reason that Ramon Ortiz was so gutted was because he had been plagued with injuries before, and he was going to retire anyway, given his age (42). He basically wanted to just have one season where he didn't get injured, and that injury ended his career.
it would be too long to react to, but there is a really interesting documentary called "fastball" that examines some of the hardest throwing pitchers of all time that you would probably enjoy
Also most of these are UCL tears (which is in the elbow) I've luckily never torn it, but I imagine when it does snap..bad enough that you instantly know....it probably feels like the entire arm just lost all it's strength which is why you'll see them grab different parts but typically end up on the elbow.
While its very hard to come back from those injuries, it is possible. Pitcher Stephen Strasburg, this past season’s World Series MVP and arguably the reason why the Nationals won the World Series had Tommy John Surgery early in his career, came back, and had a great career since. He lost some of his throwing speed but he adapted his game to make up for it.
Depends on the pitcher. Some have elbow injuries, and other have rotator cuff injuries.
Usually they tare a ligament in their elbow that requires Tommy John surgery. It takes around a year to come back and longer to be back at full strength
It’s normally a muscle tearing and snapping. I was a ball player in high school I tore my rotator cuff it was kind of sharp at first. But then it’s like a numb pain through your whole arm. I never got surgery or anything because it wasn’t necessary for everyday life I just had to build it back. Sometimes depending on the weather I still get a numb pain in my shoulder and elbow. If I throw a ball the same pain runs through my arm. I can not even throw a ball anymore if I do not want to be in extreme pain. It’s really sad.
It is sometimes in the shoulder but lost of the tome it is in the elbow. They don’t dislocate the rip tendons or mucels
I had sudden pain from pitching a few times, but nothing that ended up being serious. On the other hand, I ignored a bit of an ache in my shoulder and it led to a torn rotator cuff. No more pitching for me. It's weird how that works, but even without much pain cumulative damage can be just as bad or worse than a quick snap.
5:46 Luka, thats Ramon Ortiz, then pitcher with my Toronto Blue Jays. He was already into his 40s when this happened. He was fuming and in tears because he believed this was his last shot in the Majors, and it basically was. I don't think he ever pitched in the big leagues again after this
Sometimes I feel like I would do anything in the world for you to google these things rather than assuming
Alicia Kaffen he googles things and scrolls right past the answer lol
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I have blown out my elbow throwing a baseball and it’s the worst pain by far in my life. I’ve broken my leg and ark and nothing will compare to blowing you elbow out
Look at slow-mo of the pitching motion, and you'll see how much stress is put on the elbow!
I’m super late but arm blowouts are mainly in the elbow, but it is in the shoulder too.
Most players when they get injured like this are usually out for a year sometimes longer sometimes less
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This happened to me in college, went to throw a hard slider and I heard a very loud pop, but felt a tearing/crack if that makes sense following by intense stinging/burning pain, like a hot knife sticking and jiggling in your arm, it was horrible and seemed like it lasted for ever but I don’t remember too much pain on the way to the hospital, but there was for sure. Worst feeling injury in the entire world
Plus it's not just pain, it's going from a normal pitch to FEELING that your career is over in an instant.
the announcers at 6:07 tell the whole story. sorry i kinda dropped comments as i went
Get more SB Nation in here! Their videos are literally the best.
Nearly every single arm injury is a ligament injury, which just happens over time, which means there really isn’t a way to prevent it. It happens to some guys at a young age, while others never tear there ligaments
When you throw the ball it puts alot of strain on the ligaments in your arm and depending how bad the injury is it could result in surgery on the elbow ligaments or shouler
Didn't see this in the comments, so the reason Ortiz was so upset (5:55) is because he was 39/40 when this happened. He knew it was career ending and he never pitched in MLB again
Yea this is rough, I’m 15 and I snapped the growth plate in my upper arm/shoulder by throwing, couldn’t move it from the pain, felt like my arm was on fire. Took me 2 months to realize it wasn’t a muscle tear🤷♂️😂 ended my season but it got cancelled anyway from a certain sickness going around. I’m cleared now and working to get better for summer👍
1:22 Tony Saunders, a left handed pitcher for the Devil Rays. He had to retire due to breaking his arm. He broke it in 1999 then rehabbed and attempted to come back in 2000 and rebroke the same arm and retired. It's been rumored through the years his arm kept breaking from steroids but there's never been (at least to my knowledge) any physical evidence to prove that.
Most pitching injuries are centered around the elbow and forearm, not shoulder. Though, rotator cuff (shoulder) injuries are still common.
There are some pitchers who have had multiple tommy john surgery's who are still pitching in the majors today
So I recently tore my UCL. It’s the ligament on the inner corner of your elbow. Pretty much the equivalent to the ACL in knees. It occurs mostly in softball and baseball, but often in any overhand sport. Mine was a gradual tear due to not resting it. So watching these makes me cringe
I would describe mine as a tearing or a burning pain. A numbness into the fingers and mine went into the bicep. Then it gets incredibly swollen and for UCLs specifically you tend to get a little bump on the inner part of your elbow.
Shit sucks
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fuck that series. shouldnt give trashcan bangers any attention
A shoulder surgery cost me my playing days. My pain was sharp and then my arm was limp. Just throwing a change up and bam
Often people can come back from these injuries but it takes a long time, with surgery, rehab, and sometimes their ability is diminished after they recover.
Most severe arm injuries happen in the elbow, usually it's the UCL that snaps/tears. It requires Tommy John surgery (I suggest looking it up in your own time) to fix and the recovery time is on average 17 months. There's an 80% chance of coming back from surgery and being as good as you were (even a couple rare cases of guys throwing harder after) but for young players especially, it takes over a year away from their development which can sometimes lead to them not being able to every reach their full potential. My friend unfortunately was in the other 20%. He was throwing 65MPH at 13 in 2017 when he tore his UCL in the first game of the season. He came back at the end of 2018 but he can hardly hit 50MPH now and he can't throw for extended periods without feeling pain in his elbow.
That reminds me of the case of R.A. Dickey, he got drafted by the Texas Rangers, they signed him to an $810,000 contract. But then a trainer noticed in a picture of him with the pitchers of the US Olympic team: his elbow hung lower and suggested they get it checked. Turns out he had no UCL, a rare deformity. So he should be in constant pain but it somehow was never an issue.Texas rescinded the contract, they ended up signing him to a minor league contract worth $75,000. It took him many years but he would eventually make the majors and had a decent career. Even won the 2012 Cy Young award as the National League's best pitcher.
I had tommy John surgery, it did not feel good at all, as soon as I released the ball it felt like a rubber band snapped in my elbow right next to the funny bone and felt like u just popped a cold water balloon with all the water rushing in. Arm pain is no joke.
I think Sandy Koufax (LEGENDARY dodgers pitcher) decided to retire when he was still pitching really well because he wanted to preserve his health.
This is a pitchers biggest fear. There's no warning and it can happen at anytime. Your arm will snap and the pain is excruciating.
Can you actually react to some baseball highlights? Or more videos explaining the rules of baseball?
Baseball seasons are 162 games long, games are nearly every day, so they are so many baseball injuries because it’s a marathon of games
It is usually a torn UCL which is the inside part of your elbow
Normally out for a season or two but some need to retire
You tear a tendon I’m pretty sure
Hi Luka! You should react to MLB fights!
LOL.....those crazy pitchers........you never know what they will do next.
they're mental.
One of my teammates sophomore year was pitching and blew his arm out. He never played another game after that. It's a shame because he easily would've played college ball
Luka, if you want to see a truly elite shooter who shoots 3s WHILE MOVING I’d love to see you react to JJ Redick 2017-2018 highlights he made a whole career from taking difficult and odd shots hardly anyone is history can do
I have broken both of my wrists simultaneously. I know the feels. It hurts like hell.
Dude, love your videos.
so these are all shoulder and elbow injuries. what happens is the ligaments tear and cause excruciating pain and years of reconstructive surgery.
People can come back from these kinds of injuries but it takes over a year usually
Yes quite alot of players have come back after surgery but not everyone does
Please react to "A Game To Remember | October 6, 2009 | Tigers vs. Twins"
You should watch "The 10 Greatest against all odds ALL TIME" by Austin sweatt.He just uploaded it