Hidden Pitches in Major League Baseball: What Are the Injury Implications of These Often Overlooked Pitches?

Abstract

Background: Pitch counts are tightly monitored in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hidden pitches—including warm-up pitches before and between innings and pitches before the starting/relieving pitcher’s appearance in a game—are not as closely monitored. Purpose/Hypothesis: To report the number of hidden pitches thrown per game and over the course of a season for a single organization. We hypothesized that players who threw more hidden pitches would be at an increased risk of injury compared with those who threw fewer hidden pitches. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: All pitchers who played for a single MLB organization in the 2021 season were included. Hidden pitches, in-game pitches, and total pitches thrown during all games in the season were recorded. Injuries to these pitchers were also recorded. Players were defined as having an injury if they spent any time on the injured list. Results: Overall, 137 pitchers were included, 66 (48%) of whom sustained an injury and were placed on the IL during the 2021 season (mean time on IL, 53.6 ± 45.6 days). Of the 66 players who sustained an injury, 18 (27.3%) sustained an elbow injury, while 12 (18.2%) sustained a shoulder injury. Only 1 player sustained an ulnar collateral ligament tear. When comparing hidden pitches, in-game pitches, and total pitches between pitchers who sustained an injury and those who did not, there were no significant differences between groups ( P = .150; P = .830; and P = .377, respectively). On average, hidden pitches made up 45.4% of the total number of pitches thrown during the course of the season. When evaluating the number of hidden pitches as a percentage of the total number of pitches thrown in a season, there was no significant difference between pitchers who sustained an injury and those who did not ( P = .654). Conclusion: MLB pitchers who sustained an injury did not throw more hidden pitches than those who did not sustain an injury. Larger scale studies are needed to confirm the results of this single-team study.