ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2021
Return to Performance After Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers: A Case-Control Assessment of Advanced Analytics, Velocity, Spin Rates, and Pitch Movement.
Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Statcast-based evaluation of postoperative performance in Major League Baseball position players following ulnar collateral ligament surgery: a retrospective case-control study.Clinics in shoulder and elbow · 2026Article
- Return to Play and Performance After Revision Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Primary Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers: An Analysis of Factors Associated With Successful Return to Preinjury Level of Performance.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Pitch Performance After Ulnar Collateral Ligament Surgery in Major League Baseball Pitchers.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Using Pitch-Tracking Metrics to Identify Warning Signs Immediately Prior to Acute Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries in Major League Baseball Players.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Sociodemographic Variables Are Rarely Reported in Studies Investigating Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Review
- Major League Baseball Pitchers' Arm Angles Measured on Game Videos Were Not Associated With an Increased Risk of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Technology Innovation and Guardrails in Elite Sport: The Future is Now.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Review
- New Opportunities in Assessing Return to Performance in the Elite Athlete: Unifying Sports Medicine, Data Analytics, and Sports Science.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere are limited data on the performance or pitching metrics of Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers who returned to play after ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR). PURPOSE: To describe MLB pitcher performance after return from primary UCLR, compare the velocity and pitch characteristics against the preoperative season, and determine if performance analytics can predict successful return to pitching after UCLR. STUDY
designCase-control study; Level of evidence, 3.
methodsThis study included 63 pitchers who underwent primary UCLR between 2015 and 2019. Publicly available advanced analytics and pitch metrics from the first 2 postoperative seasons were compared with the preoperative (index) season as well as with an uninjured control group.
resultsOverall, 57% of the pitchers successfully returned to the MLB level. Although they threw significantly fewer pitches (
conclusionPitchers returning to the MLB level after UCLR demonstrated changes in pitch movement profiles and spin rates postoperatively, but there were no differences in velocity or many advanced analytics upon return. Pitchers with lower strikeout metrics, fewer WAR, and less player value before surgery may have an elevated risk of failing to return to the MLB level.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.