Quote Originally Posted by Todd4State View Post
Again- it's not the weighted ball itself as much as how much weight is being thrown. You always want to start out light in the beginning and then progress gradually from there. I think what needs to be focused on first are mechanics and core and leg strengthening. They need to study pitchers that threw hard and didn't get hurt and try to replicate that. Nolan Ryan being an example- and I know that he did a LOT of leg and core strengthening even though it wasn't the thing to do at that time. Ryan also had outstanding mechanics. Assuming Aroldis Chapman doesn't get hurt he would be another good one to study potentially. And again with Champman- strong legs, strong core and good mechanics especially for someone with long arms and legs.
I know this is apples to oranges but I worked for a poultry producer that grew chickens up to 12 lbs. You would see damaged tendons in their legs because the muscle was growing so much faster than the tendon. It could be that the pitchers were putting on muscle so fast that the tendons and ligaments couldn't keep up.