Rangers ace Yu Darvish might need Tommy John surgery

Unfortunately that's what often happens when young boys/men are made to pitch into ridiculously high counts. Japanese teams just use them up then toss them

A real shame, IMO !

Sometimes after Tommy John surgery the pitcher comes back stronger and with a faster fastball. Hopefully this is what will happen with Darvish ...

Still, better than "John Thomas" surgery...

If i was MLB team owner id certainly have a lot of condititions attached to any huge contracts for Japanese ace pitchers. many seem to be 80% worn out by the time there released from there Japanese teams

Simply put, returning from surgery is not guaranteed and unfortunately no surgery is 100% perfect. There will always be some complications. The general assumption that recovery from surgery is quick and easy is false. I wish Darvish a speedy recovery and the very best.

Maybe MLB teams should look at the number of pitches thrown by big time pitchers in Japan before they post so much money for them. Glad to see some high school teams are using more than one pitcher, but that is not always the case. I really think Japan has quality pitching, but too many pitches thrown from an early age.

Another one bites the dust, with Tanaka to follow, soon.

Funny how the aces from Japan never seem to have arm troubles before MLB gets a hold of them...

There's an epidemic of TJ surgery in MLB but not in Japan. Hmm.

Funny how the aces from Japan never seem to have arm troubles before MLB gets a hold of them...

There's an epidemic of TJ surgery in MLB but not in Japan. Hmm.

Good point. I think it's because they make pitchers pitch way more times in the majors than in Japan, with only 5 days of rest between starts, as compared to 6 in Japan. The list of pitchers in the U.S. needing Tommy John is long and growing, with guys like Stephen Strasburg and Kerry Wood having them when they were young. Having six day rests would go a long way to avoiding this problem.