Numbers and technology-generated data. The sports world is obsessed with them, altering the athletic training landscape in a variety of ways—some useful, some not so much.

Appropriate use of analytics in sports training can be valuable. Inappropriate use, however, can contribute to both physical injuries and distracted, impaired performance.

No sport better demonstrates the damaging aspects of numbers obsession than baseball. Let’s explore.

Major League Baseball is plagued by an ongoing rash of pitcher arm injuries and surgeries, most recently to high-profile hurlers Gerrit Cole, Spencer Strider, and Shane Bieber.

The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), as reported by the media, is pointing an accusatory finger at the 30-second pitching clock, instituted in 2022, as the main culprit for those injuries, claiming it doesn’t leave enough time between pitches for adequate arm recovery. The escalation of arm injuries, however, was occurring way before the pitch clock came into play.

Famed former MLB pitching coach Leo Mazzone, Hall-of-Fame pitchers John Smoltz and Greg Maddux, Houston Astros ace hurler Justin Verlander, and retired Major Leaguer Mo Vaughn have recently weighed in on the subject and strongly disagree with the MLBPA’s claim. All of those baseball luminaries blame analytics and over-emphasis on “velo” (velocity) and spin rate in youth, high school, and older levels of play for the rash of arm injuries.

“The radar gun should be banned all the way through high school,” wrote Mazzone in an article published in the Ultimate Baseball Guide. Mazzone is credited with developing John Smoltz, Greg Maddox, and Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine during his tenure as Atlanta Braves pitching coach from 1990-2005.

“Pitchers are being told that if they don’t hit a certain number on the radar gun, they won’t make a team, they won’t get drafted, or get signed,” explained Mazzone. “So, what’s the first thing a youngster will do? They try to pitch up to the radar gun to raise their 'velo,'........

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