3 ms·

The fastest pitch is likely closer to 110 MPH given what Chapman has done. Take a clone of Chapman, but with gigantic hands, taller, and stronger. And if the U

The fastest pitch is likely closer to 110 MPH given what Chapman has done. Take a clone of Chapman, but with gigantic hands, taller, and stronger. And if the UCL is indeed the limiting factor, it's not hard to imagine a future where the ligament will be surgically enhanced via some kind of synthetic graft.

semi-extrinsic 9y ago
> it's not hard to imagine a future where the ligament will be surgically enhanced via some kind of synthetic graft I'm not convinced - biocompatibility is a bitch. Whenever someone tears e.g. an UCL or an ACL, there are no options other than transplanting in a human graft, either taken from the patient (often parts of the hamstring) or from a corpse.
- icelancer 9y ago
  > there are no options other than transplanting in a human graft This isn't true anymore. Internal brace method is the most common advancement. There are other less ethical ones being done by select surgeons, too.
  - quickrandom 9y ago
    Less ethical?
icelancer 9y ago
>And if the UCL is indeed the limiting factor, it's not hard to imagine a future where the ligament will be surgically enhanced via some kind of synthetic graft. The UCL is not the limiting factor; it just gets torn from use. The tissue itself does not stop people from throwing harder than 105+ MPH. There are videos of people throwing baseballs 109 MPH from running starts and their arms don't explode; they also throw 3 oz balls 115+ MPH and their UCL doesn't tear. The UCL is not a governor. As for the synthetic graft, it already exists. We call it internal brace method, designed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas. One surgeon even weaves fibers into the UCL to strengthen it and he calls it the Superband surgery. There is almost no information on that surgery, probably because the person who does it has been sanctioned twice by the AMA.

3 ms·

The fastest pitch is likely closer to 110 MPH given what Chapman has done. Take a clone of Chapman, but with gigantic hands, taller, and stronger. And if the U

by virtualwhys 9y ago

semi-extrinsic 9y ago
> it's not hard to imagine a future where the ligament will be surgically enhanced via some kind of synthetic graft I'm not convinced - biocompatibility is a bitch. Whenever someone tears e.g. an UCL or an ACL, there are no options other than transplanting in a human graft, either taken from the patient (often parts of the hamstring) or from a corpse.
- icelancer 9y ago
  > there are no options other than transplanting in a human graft This isn't true anymore. Internal brace method is the most common advancement. There are other less ethical ones being done by select surgeons, too.
  - quickrandom 9y ago
    Less ethical?
icelancer 9y ago
>And if the UCL is indeed the limiting factor, it's not hard to imagine a future where the ligament will be surgically enhanced via some kind of synthetic graft. The UCL is not the limiting factor; it just gets torn from use. The tissue itself does not stop people from throwing harder than 105+ MPH. There are videos of people throwing baseballs 109 MPH from running starts and their arms don't explode; they also throw 3 oz balls 115+ MPH and their UCL doesn't tear. The UCL is not a governor. As for the synthetic graft, it already exists. We call it internal brace method, designed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas. One surgeon even weaves fibers into the UCL to strengthen it and he calls it the Superband surgery. There is almost no information on that surgery, probably because the person who does it has been sanctioned twice by the AMA.