Tyler Glasnow has a shocking take about velocity and pitching injuries

In light of the recent pitching injuries, the MLBPA has cited the pitch clock as the main culprit. Others have pointed out that there may be too much of an emphasis on velocity in today's game.

Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers is a pitcher who relies heavily on velocity. He is also somebody who has struggled to stay healthy in recent years due to various arm troubles. Back in 2021, Glasnow was injured shortly after spider tack was banned, and subsequently went on the record to say that not being able to use it played a role in his injury.

When asked about his take on velocity and how it's connected to injuries in pitchers, Glasnow had yet another shocking take.

"The mentality I've had since I was in high school was throw the ball as hard as you can all the time," said Glasnow. "That's the highest chance of you playing in college and the highest chance of you playing pro. If you get hurt, we got good doctors. That's been the mentality for such a long time."

Glasnow gives surprising take on velocity, pitching injuries

This is certainly surprising to hear from Glasnow, a pitcher who has dealt with more than his fair share of arm injuries. This of course isn't to say that the emphasis on velocity is the only possible culprit here, but for somebody who has been hurt constantly, it's an interesting take.

Glasnow says he believes throwing hard is the best path to take, no matter the risks, as citing that he had a 7.7 ERA when he didn't prioritize velocity.

Cincinnati Reds reliever Tejay Antone recently had his third elbow surgery and came out and said that his goal is to throw in the triple digits again once he's healthy, rather than rely on command and control.

Various pitchers have reinvented themselves into command and control pitchers after several arm injuries. An obvious example of this is Adam Wainwright, who was nearly forced into retirement but completely changed everything and became more reliant on his command and control rather than trying to remain a high-octane pitcher. Wainwright would go on to play five more seasons as a result and even returned to his ace form in 2021.

This approach has helped save multiple pitcher's careers, and those who don't rely solely on velocity typically are very successful as long as they can maintain control, with Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux being another perfect example.

But even in the midst of all the injuries, Glasnow doesn't seem to think velocity is a major issue. Throwing hard remains his approach despite everything that has transpired, even with himself over the past few years.

It will be interesting to see how these stories develop over the next several weeks and if there are potentially changes to the pitch clock or more pitchers that decide to rely on command instead of velocity.