Dr. Mike Marshall

If you haven't heard of him you haven't been REALLY following baseball.

Dr. Mike Marshall was a former Cy Young award winner. Following his baseball career he became obsessed with understanding how the arm functions in throwing a baseball. It seems he become addicted to preventing arm injuries. He has developed many opinions about how kids should prepare, perform and recover.

Are his opinions sound? I'm sure they are. Who am I to discredit what Dr. Marhsall espouses?

I simply would like to address some of his opinions regarding youth baseball and how absolutely ridiculous these assertions are. Regardless of his knowledge and his opinions on how he can assist baseball, to actually endorse some of his beliefs is sheer imbecility.

Number 1- He asserts that you should not pitch competitively until you are 13. You should not get on the mound until you are 13! That would effectively eradicate little league baseball of all kind. He would rather a pitching machine replace the pitcher. Why? There is simply too much stress placed on the youth arm before the growth plates start to develop.

Are you kidding me?

I don't care how much you know about the arm and what you think it does or doesn't do to a young pitcher. You lose all credibility when you suggest such absurd notions. The game of baseball needs to be learned and you can't learn the game by not playing the game. If you believe that young kids need to be careful about their arm, fine. State it in such a manner that is actually realistic. Be helpful. Don't set unrealistic expectations.

Number 2- Once you reach the age of 13, you should only throw one inning twice a week. So, if you play three games a week, you would need 14 pitchers. You see Marshall says that if you throw one inning on Monday you could throw one more on Friday. The same would be true for every other pitcher that pitched on Monday. That makes 7 pitchers. Of course you would need 7 more pitchers for that Wednesday game. Did I mention that most teener teams have rosters of 11-12 players.

I'll say it again. Ridiculous.

Number 3- Throwing an object is about as natural an athletic movement as there is. Kids do it from a very early age. They learn to do it when they are 2, 3 ,4. It progresses into pitching a ball into a strike zone that is attempted to be hit by hitters. Yet, Mike Marshall says that the whole throwing motion needs to be revamped. It's all wrong. Everything that comes natural to every human ever to pick up a sphere, needs to be admonished and instructed in the proper technique. A technique that will forever cure arm ailments.

Again. It might be true. But, it's as unrealistic an expectation as you could ever imagine.

What's more important? Saying the right thing in the wrong package. Or, saying the wrong thing in the right package? Many pitching coaches with far less knowledge than Dr. Mike Marshall understand the importance of the package. Unfortunately, Marshall's knowledge clouds his presentation.

Anytime you threaten to make little league baseball extinct, the message gets lost.

I suppose Dr. Mike Marshall is one of many doctors with poor "bedside manners."