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Tommy John calls surgery epidemic 'unreal'

Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Retired hurler Tommy John, who popularized the ligament replacement procedure that now bears his name, is shocked by the recent surge of pitchers requiring surgery for faulty elbows, reports Chris Fitzgerald of the Watertown Daily Times.

“It’s unreal,” said John, who played 14 seasons in the majors after undergoing the famous procedure in 1975. “And it’s crazy that they would pick 2014 to be an epidemic year, it seems like guys are going down right and left.”

A host of prominent big-league pitchers have been victimized by torn ulnar collateral ligaments in recent weeks, as Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, Patrick Corbin, Ivan Nova, Jarrod Parker, and Josh Johnson are just a few of the pitchers who have opted for Tommy John surgery.

John insists the growing number of Tommy John surgeries is a result of pitchers overusing their arms during childhood:

Throwing pitches in the big leagues will not hurt your arm. It's what you did down the road when you were younger. ... In essence, the injury itself is a buildup of overuse. And not overuse as an adult, but overuse as a kid.

What I would like to see these guys do, these surgeons and all, is ask all the guys who have had the surgery -- 'How much did you pitch as a kid and how often, and did you pitch year-round?' And nowadays, probably 70 to 80 percent of the pitchers today have been pitching 12 months a year since they were seven, eight or nine years old. And your arm is not made for that.

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