damn right it does. last year, short kid was really struggling in a game. control just wasn’t there at all. and he gave up his first bomb. two seamer stayed up and never bit. was a no doubter right off the barrel. like the kind where nobody in the outfield even flinches, they just look up and watch it go. i look at him (while ball still in flight) and he’s got head down hands on hip not even watching it. he’s been roughed up before, but nobody ever launched one on him until then. so wasn’t sure how he was going to react. after the kid touched home, i trot out to the mound. he’s looking at me shaking his head my entire route. soon as i got there, he said “you ain’t pulling me until i face that guy again” i asked him what happened and he just looked up at me and said “what did it look like? i served him a fat one and he slapped a dong on me.” so screw it i left him in there. don’t think it was intentional, but he plunked that kid next time up. best part was i saw a pic another parent snapped of him on the pitch that left the yard. he has a complete “oh shit!” expression on his face before the ball even reached the plate. he KNEW he hung it.
Again, big difference between young kids and teenagers, the youngsters simply can't put the torque on the shoulder that causes injuries. Let him throw.
Shoulders tend to be wear injuries (except in cases of contact obviously). Elbows tend to be stress injuries. that’s direct from an orthopedic dr after an MRI on my shoulder. said in cases that don’t involve accidents, falls, contact in sports, etc. the damage is almost always old and fraying. indicative of being worn down from repetition. typically there are bone spurs involved (That’s what i have going on) that’s rubbing steadily adding to the damage. tendons in elbows on the other hand pop and snap suddenly.
