Barry Larkin ruined everything.
Fans with the 1990 A’s are already able to state this for many years. Now it’s our MLB The Show 18 Stubs turn. Back in 1989, Major League Baseball held a skills competition that went past the Home Run Derby. There were catchers. There were relay throws. There were, obviously, dingers. There’s no video — it’s feasible for it wasn’t even televised — but we all do have archeological evidence it existed.
Pena scored 21 points by throwing three balls by using a target and showing up in target six times. Santiago tossed four over the hole striking the target six in other cases. Steinbach and Tettleton were capable of throw the ball throughout the MLB 18 Stubs target only one time between them.
If we’re being completely honest, this version on the skills competition seems like a bit of a snooze. I’m all for catchers winging baseballs by way of a tiny hole at second base, even so the rest on the competition featured a relay-throw event and a great hit derby that had been suspiciously bereft of home runs. Eric Davis hit three home runs and led the derby. Bo Jackson hit one. And never during my life have I wanted baseball’s best relay-throwers to get a relay-throw match in relay-throw thunderdome.
But it existed. And Barry Larkin ruined it.
Baseball did use a skills competition. Larkin was taking part in it for the 1989 All-Star Game in Anaheim. He made a throw and his awesome elbow went.
”I heard a pop off inside the distance just like a gun shot had opted off,” Larkin said. “I was like something is taking here. Then I realized it absolutely was my elbow. That wasn’t good.”
Larkin was building a relay throw. The correlation is apparent. Player makes relay toss in relay-throw thunderdome; player gets hurt; relay-throw thunderdome is responsible for that injury. Skills competitors are cancelled. Intern accountable for it is release.
Except, that’s not how elbow injuries work. It’s not ONE BIG THROW that does elbows in. It’s a cumulative injury that builds on top of throw after throw after throw. Remember how Jose Canseco’s pitching outing was blamed for his Tommy John surgery? Wasn’t true.
The report from Dr. Jobe took some in the heat off.
He explained until this was a progressive injury, a tear which was becoming greater after some time and probably had begun the year before. Jose’s full-fan performance from the bullpen may have enhanced it, therefore the throw from your outfield finally blew your elbow.
The skills competition didn’t help Larkin’s elbow. It was the proverbial straw. But it didn’t make the injury. If you take the healthiest an affiliate baseball right this moment, someone which has a ligament of steel, they aren’t planning to blow up their elbow with one fluky throw. If it wasn’t that hot July evening, it might are already an infield practice that following month. Or maybe in September.