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Overuse of young pitchers fueling MLB's Tommy John surgery problem

The scout can look at the wonder of the prodigy -- a 17-year-old kid with top-end major league velocity -- and dream on it. He sees a first-round pick. A
Tom Verducci|
Overuse of young pitchers fueling MLB's Tommy John surgery problem
Overuse of young pitchers fueling MLB's Tommy John surgery problem

The scout can look at the wonder of the prodigy -- a 17-year-old kid with top-end major league velocity -- and dream on it. He sees a first-round pick. A future ace. What he doesn't want to see is what people like Fleisig see. It is an image that is becoming more and more common: A rubber band about to break.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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