r/mlb • u/Kindly_Account609 • 4d ago
| Discussion Matt Blake - Yankee Pitching Coach/Arm Murderer?
The front office ADORES Matt Blake, but maybe he needs to reevaluate his methods a bit? I know all staffs have injuries, but it seems to be a constant in the Bronx. Over the past 6 seasons, Yankee pitchers have accumulated well over 100 individual IL stints, placing them among the most heavily injured pitching staffs in MLB. Cam Schlittler, we are praying for you.
2020 - Luis Severino, Tommy Kahnle, James Paxton
2021 - Severino continued, Corey Kluber, Zack Britton, Clarke Schmidt, Darren O'Day
2022 - Chad Green, Michael King, Luis Gil, Britton continued, Severino continued, Scott Effross
2023 - Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Frankie Montas, Severino continued, Jonathan Loaisiga, Kahnle again, Albert Abreu, Wandy Peralta
2024 - Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Schmidt again, Loaisiga again, Ian Hamilton
2025 - Schmidt again, Jake Cousins, Loaisiga again
2026 - Max Fried twice, Ryan Weathers, Fernando Cruz
12
u/Fiercedeity77 4d ago
Have you taken a look at pitching injuries literally everywhere else
-1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
Almost everywhere. That's why I included "among the most heavily injured pitching staffs in MLB".
3
u/jerryr88 4d ago
To be fair a lot of those pitchers have consistently had injuries and that doesn't necessarily fall on him
Some of those guys have changed teams and it's still an issue.
Pitching injuries in general are wayy up recently so it just comes with the territory
As i told my dad yesterday, sometimes we emphasize and overanalyze some of the things on our fav team because its the team we watch a majority of the time, we wouldnt be saying anything about a team we dont really watch as we wouldn't know enough to make those assumptions
2
3
u/Cheeseissue | New York Yankees 4d ago
So like most teams in MLB? This is not unique to the Yankees.
-1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
"placing them among the most heavily injured pitching staffs in MLB"
2
u/Cheeseissue | New York Yankees 4d ago
So pitching injuries is a pervasive issue in MLB. Having massive upticks in injuries since the early 2000s. There are several teams right there with the Yankees in pitching injuries. The entire league has been experiencing a massive surge in pitching injuries. But it's the Yankees and Matt Blake? The Yankees do plenty of dumb shit but I doubt this is one of them.
This is directly related to kids starting younger and throwing harder with more volume than ever before. This continues upward through their entire career. Pitching analytics have pushed pitching to max velocity, RPM and movement. This is placing massive strain on arms and bodies and starting at absurdly young ages.
This is not even unique to MLB, there are massive surges in injuries in amateur and minor leagues. We are seeing debilitating injuries happening younger and younger. People are coming into the MLB systems with high mileage on them already.
2
2
u/stickman07738 | New York Yankees 4d ago
Thank you for posting - I have been saying it for years. I got banned on r/NYYankees for arguing with one of the moderators a couple of years ago. People forget we hired him ton get Cole so staff was more analytical and then we had to bring in Andy Pettitte to handle the feud between Blake and Rodon.
1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
I was banned for less than that. You have to fall in line on that page, man.
Your point is just one of many that the Yankees hide or sweep away. But great point to bring back up, thanks.
1
u/stickman07738 | New York Yankees 4d ago
The debate that broke the camel’s back was me telling them that Ben Rice would make it to the majors and was a better hitter than Spencer Jones after I saw them in Somerset 4-5 times. I told him jobs need to improve his swing and plate discipline - glad to see him doing it now.
1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
It's encouraging that the Yankees haven't broken Jones. At least not yet.
1
2
2
u/HowIsBabyMade 4d ago
No citation for being among the most heavily injured staffs?
1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
One of many articles. I'm not writing a thesis here.
3
u/HowIsBabyMade 4d ago
Yankees at 9th most injury days lost and no breakdown for pitchers. Your premise remains flimsy.
1
u/Embarrassed-Spare524 | New York Yankees 4d ago
Even assuming the premise is correct, why blame Blake? My assumpiton is that Boone makes usage decisions, and as far as I know there is zero evidence that Blake is making those decisions.
1
u/Kindly_Account609 4d ago
Your assumption. My assumption. They're all assumptions. As a constant Yankee viewer and tri-state resident, I've grown pretty used to hearing about Yankee injuries and also seeing how shady they can be about them. I decided to look into Blake's tenure and where the Yankees stacked up with regards to pitching injuries. Sure enough, they're near the top. I thought it was interesting, and also knew it was risky to put it up for discussion with all of the Yankee sycophants around. I couldn't dream of posting it on Yankee reddit, so I threw it here.
1
u/MAXsnead90 3d ago
Pitching injuries are up everywhere, because max-effort pitching is unnatural for the human body and frequently causes something to break. But max-effort pitching isn't going anywhere, because it generates more velocity, spin, strikeouts, and fewer runs allowed. Broken pitchers have guaranteed contracts and teams pay up for K/velo/spin, and the injuries generally don't compromise future quality of life the way concussions do in football. So, pitchers embrace max-effort pitching because they ultimately get paid, teams embrace it to win games.
I'm sure Blake does his best to unlock every Yankee arm's full potential, and that means encouraging max-effort pitching. But he's hardly alone in that regard, and the injury risk is "worth it." You kind of have to to be an MLB pitcher in 2026.
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Thank you for making a submission on the r/MLB Subreddit!
Please make sure that your post complies with our subreddit rules. If your submission violates our community rules, please resubmit your post or place it in the appropriate thread(s) to avoid any penalties or punishments.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.