Short-Sleeve Shirts Once Blamed for MLB Pitcher Injuries
Sore arms are always a potential issue for baseball players but there used to be interesting theories about how they developed
Pitchers may well be the most valuable commodity in baseball. Although they only appear in a fraction of their team’s games, today the best hurlers can sign contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Unfortunately, they are very susceptible to potential arm injuries, a persistent calamity that has impacted numerous moundsmen over the years. Before the full impact of the physical toll violently throwing baseballs was understood, there were some interesting theories of causation, including trying to place the blame on short sleeve shirts.
A September 2, 1938 issue of the Boston Globe dug into the problem of rampant arm issues experienced by pitchers around baseball. To get to the bottom of the problem, they spoke with two sage experts on the local Boston Red Sox. These were Tom Daly, a former eight-year major league catcher and the team’s third base coach. The other was backup catcher Moe Berg; a man of college degrees and multiple languages, an American spy and a 15-year big-league veteran.
One might think these two wily backstops might have had some strong insight as to what caused…
