‘Tommy John’ Surgeries for Teen Pitchers
During the 2002 Little League World Series, millions watched on TV as two young pitchers each threw well over a hundred pitches during their semi-final games. That many pitches from a growing kid can mean serious shoulder and elbow injuries, leading to a spike in so-called “Tommy John” operations in teens and children. Ron Berler writes in his upcoming New York Times Magazine article that this trend has been ballooning steadily for the past decade. And it’s not always injured kids who are going under the knife.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.