Using Pitch-Tracking Data to Identify Risk Factors for Medial Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers

BACKGROUND: Approximately 25% of Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers undergo medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR) during their careers. PURPOSE: To identify risk factors for UCLR that are specific to 2 subgroups of MLB pitchers: right (RHPs)- versus left-handed pitchers (LHPs) and starting (SPs) versus relief pitchers (RPs). STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: We included 109 MLB pitchers who had undergone UCLR between 2007 and 2019 and had sufficient preinjury data in the 3 years before surgery (T3, T2, T1). A 2:1 matched control cohort was selected for comparison. Pitch velocity, release location, and ball movement were compared between the UCLR and control cohorts in both subgroups in the years before surgery (RHPs vs LHPs and SPs vs RPs). Binary logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for UCLR. RESULTS: The mean horizontal release location for the UCLR group was 5.8 cm more lateral than for the control group (P = .028). For all pitchers, every 2.5-cm lateral shift in release location in the years leading up to UCLR equated to a 3.7% increase in the odds of UCLR. For RPs, this risk was more substantial: a 5.8% increase in odds per 2.5 cm. SPs in the UCLR group demonstrated significantly different T1 horizontal release locations compared with SPs in the control group, though not to a statistically significant change over the 3 years before surgery. However, in the 3 years before surgery, the horizontal release location for RPs in the UCLR group moved 2.1 cm more lateral, as compared with 2.7 cm more medial for RPs in the control group (P = .007). For LHPs, a decrease in mean pitch velocity by 1 mph (1.6 km/h) in the years leading up to surgery increased the odds of UCLR by 45%. CONCLUSION: Increasing lateralization of release point in the years before surgery increased the risk of UCLR, specifically for relievers. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that release location is an important variable in analyzing the risk of UCLR in MLB and that risk stratification may be dependent on pitcher characteristics such as position, handedness, and weight.