A Curve on Curveballs

Another cherished childhood myth bites the dust: Maybe it's not so bad after all if your kid wants to throw a curveball.

For decades, many sports medicine experts have warned youth baseball coaches not to allow young pitchers to throw curves, which if thrown correctly by a right-handed pitcher, break sharply down and away from a right-handed batter. (The same is true if a left-handed pitcher throws the pitch to a left-handed batter).

The reasoning: The sharp elbow snap involved in throwing a curve was deemed to place too much stress on undeveloped arms.

Now come two studies, reported in The New York Times, that say that curveballs lead to few, if any, injuries in young pitchers. In fact, fastballs — the staple of most pitchers at any age — put more stress on arms and elbows than throwing curveballs.

One of the studies was done by the American Sports Medicine Institute of Birmingham, Ala., whose president and founder is Dr.

James Andrews, a surgeon renowned for his work on the elbows of many Major League. Andrews warned that some questions remained to be answered and that the study "may do more harm than good."

The larger issue in childhood arm injuries may be overuse: Too many pitches thrown in too many games too close together. The study suggested that young pitchers be allowed to throw no more than 80 pitches in a game, and that seasons should be limited.

Our own experience with curveballs (also known as the "deuce," the "yakker" and "the reason we went into journalism") suggests that they should be banned at all levels.

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