Corbin Burnes hints MLB is hiding some important information about the pitch clock

Major League Baseball is bursting at the seams with controversy. But even as the league's global superstar is embroiled in a gambling controversy and uniform mishaps continue to pile up, nothing is more concerning than the mounting pitcher injuries.

Miami Marlins star Eury Pérez suffered a torn elbow ligament last week. Within a span of five hours on Saturday, announcements were made that Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber, New York Yankees' reliever Jonathan Loáisiga, and Atlanta Braves' Spencer Strider suffered damage to their ulnar collateral ligaments.

Each of those pitchers are consiulting doctors or set to undergo season-ending surgeries as their respective teams lead their divisions. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is attempting to work his way back from elbow soreness, while Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez missed his Monday night start with elbow soreness.

Corbin Burnes weighs in on pitcher injuries

Corbin Burnes, a former Cy Young award pitcher acquired by the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason, was asked about the injuries after his dominant performance against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park on Tuesday. Burnes allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings as the Orioles spoiled Boston's home opener with a 7-1 victory.

"MLB's gonna tell you it's not pitch clock related," Burnes said. "I would argue that long-term injuries are up the last two years, and the rate we're having injuries this year is nothing like we've ever seen before. There's a problem, it's got to be fixed. You hate seeing guys go down. A lot of these are career-changing injuries for guys, so it sucks to see. We'll see what happens."

The Major League Baseball Players Association engaged in a public spat with the league on Saturday as pitchers continue to drop. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark put out a statement blaming the MLB's pitch clock rule changes that went into effect during the 2023 season. The league responded by blaming the increased focus on velocity and spin rate.

Pitcher injuries have been on the rise for years, but the pitch clock certainly doesn't help alleviate the stress of pitching. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle, but it wouldn't be in the league's best interest to admit it.

The league shortened the pitch clock last year to speed up the game and make it more enjoyable for the casual viewer. The pitch clock gave pitchers 15 seconds to throw with no base runners and 20 seconds with a runner on base. In December, the league's competition committee shortened the pitch clock with runners on base to 18 seconds. The rule was proposed after the average time of a nine-inning game grew by more than seven minutes between April and September last year. 

Burnes was asked if he has noticed a difference since the MLB shortened the pitch clock to 18 seconds during the offseason.

"Not necessarily a difference from this year to last year, but from the last two years to years past, yes," Burnes said. "As a starting pitcher, we're sprinting 100 times in a start, so to go out there and put a clock on us and limit the amount of time that you get to recover in between starts, it's going to affect that. What that affect is, I don't know, but anytime you do anything that's an endurance-type sport, where your heart rate is elevated, shortening the recovery is going to have some repercussion and I think we've seen it the last two years."

Other players began weighing in as well. Gerrit Cole is fed up with the back-and-forth while the league continues to hemorrhage talent.

So far, Burnes has managed to stay healthy. He said he spent more time on conditioning during the offseason to adapt to the quicker pace of the game. Burnes has a 2-0 record with a 1.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts this season.