When former Major League Baseball pitcher Tommy John opted to replace a ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974, the procedure was considered extremely risky. Doctors warned the pitcher that his chances of recovery were 1 in 100. Fortunately for Tommy John he was able to recover from the injury and pitched for an additional thirteen seasons. In the decades following John's landmark arm reconstruction surgery, the procedure now referred to as "Tommy John Surgery" is commonly performed on professional pitchers. However, medical experts are now concerned that the still risky procedure will become as normal to youth athletes as filling a cavity. According, to Medscape, over one-third of all Tommy John Surgeries performed in 2005 were on high school athletes. This alarming stat supports the argument made by nearly all of my baseball coaches growing up; throwing breaking balls will mangle the arms of young pitchers. Unfortunately, today's coaches in large part do not warn their pitchers of the risk of throwing breaking balls and their failure to offer the precaution will only increase these alarming numbers.

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