The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports

by Jeff Passan Narrated by Kevin Pierce

Overview

Yahoo's lead baseball columnist offers an in-depth look at the most valuable commodity in sports-the pitching arm-and how its vulnerability to injury is hurting players and the game, from Little League to the majors.

Every year, Major League Baseball spends more than $1.5 billion on pitchers-five times more than the salary of every NFL quarterback combined. Pitchers are the game's lifeblood. Their import is exceeded only by their fragility. One tiny band of tissue in the elbow, the ulnar collateral ligament, is snapping at unprecedented rates, leaving current big league players vulnerable and the coming generation of baseball-playing children dreading the three scariest words in the sport: Tommy John surgery.

Jeff Passan traveled the world for three years to explore in-depth the past, present, and future of the arm, and how its evolution left baseball struggling to wrangle its Tommy John surgery epidemic. He examined what compelled the Chicago Cubs to spend $155 million on one arm. He snagged a rare interview with Sandy Koufax, whose career was cut short by injury at thirty, and visited Japan to understand how another baseball-mad country treats its prized arms. And he followed two major league pitchers, Daniel Hudson and Todd Coffey, throughout their returns from Tommy John surgery. He exposes how the baseball establishment long ignored the rise in arm injuries and reveals how misplaced incentives across the sport stifle potential changes.

Injuries to the UCL start as early as Little League. Without a drastic cultural shift, baseball will continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually to damaged pitchers, and another generation of children will suffer the same problems that vex current players. Informative and hard-hitting, The Arm is essential reading for everyone who loves the game, wants to keep their children healthy, or relishes a look into how a large, complex institution can fail so spectacularly.

Editorial Reviews

JULY 2016 - AudioFile

In 1974, Major League pitcher Tommy John was the first to undergo a new surgical technique designed to repair career-ending ligament damage in baseball pitchers. Baseball fans who know little about the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) will learn from this deep dive into the mechanics of the arm. Narrator Kevin Pierce captures the struggles and triumphs of players determined to return to their careers after suffering the ubiquitous injury and undergoing what has become a common medical procedure in the Major Leagues. The author travels the globe to learn details of the pitching arm, players, scientists, doctors, and many others. Pierce’s varying tones help listeners understand the historical, physiological, and athletic ramifications of the game-changing surgery—now called “Tommy John surgery”—that has saved countless careers. M.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

The New York Times Book Review - John Swansburg

Passan varies his approach to his subject like an ace mixing his speeds, leaving the reader happily guessing at what's coming next…Passan makes a convincing case that the success of [Tommy John] surgery has prevented teams from seeking out the combination of mechanics, training and rest that might spare players the surgeon's knife.

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/11/2016
Sportswriter Passan (Death to the BSC: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series) delivers one of the more important books on baseball of the decade, a superbly researched and detailed look at the current "epidemic" of arm injuries in the sport. Passan expertly describes the main problem, the torn ligament in the elbows of baseball pitchers that requires what is commonly known as Tommy John surgery—using a tendon in the wrist to rebuild the elbow. Passan's focus on the people affected by the injury makes the book successful history as well as compelling reading. He presents fascinating accounts of those most responsible for the success of the Tommy John surgery, notably Dr. Frank Jobe, a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge whose experimental surgery remains the best of its kind over 40 years later. Passan also follows the careers of two major-league pitchers, Daniel Hudson and Todd Coffey, as they try to return to the game after surgery. Passan argues passionately that unless Major League Baseball confronts a situation in which "more than 50 percent of pitchers end up on the disabled list"—as do increasing numbers of young pitchers in the American and Japanese youth leagues—and figures out how to keep them from blowing out their elbows, "the current generation of pitchers is lost, their arms ticking time bombs." (Apr.)

From the Publisher

A timely and comprehensive look at all aspects of a baseball problem that in recent years appears to approach a crisis.” — Bob Costas

“This is a stunning exposé of the hidden story behind the most frequent operation performed on the most important players in this most important game in our country.” — Ken Burns

“The Arm makes it official—Jeff Passan is the best young baseball writer in America. This searing, meticulously reported account of the orthopedic revolution that began with Tommy John is must reading for every manager, general manager, pitcher and, most especially, every parent whose child has 100 mph dreams.” — Jane Leavy, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood

“The best baseball book of the year… Jeff Passan spent several years in clubhouses and operating rooms to report The Arm. It’s a close, exceptionally well-written look into the game’s epidemic of ruptured elbow ligaments, and the hard fact that medical science still has no real answers for it.” — Boston Globe

“One of the most important books on baseball of the decade, a superbly researched and detailed look at the current ‘epidemic’ of arm injuries in the sport.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“ . . .A must-read for any sports dad or anxious Mets fan. A rating.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Jeff Passan’s The Arm is the real deal-a book that’s both readable as hell and that has something meaningful to say about the way the game works...This human element lends the book its propulsive quality, but every part is fascinating. The Arm is a must-read.” — BookPage Magazine

“This is the most important baseball book in years, not just for major league pitchers like me who had Tommy John surgery but for every parent who wants a child with a healthy arm. This is an epidemic that can be fixed, and The Arm is a great first step.” — John Smoltz, former Cy Young Award winner

‘Give[s] readers an insider’s perspective on the threat hanging over every player who takes the mound.” — Booklist

Bob Costas

A timely and comprehensive look at all aspects of a baseball problem that in recent years appears to approach a crisis.

Jane Leavy

The Arm makes it official—Jeff Passan is the best young baseball writer in America. This searing, meticulously reported account of the orthopedic revolution that began with Tommy John is must reading for every manager, general manager, pitcher and, most especially, every parent whose child has 100 mph dreams.

BookPage Magazine

Jeff Passan’s The Arm is the real deal-a book that’s both readable as hell and that has something meaningful to say about the way the game works...This human element lends the book its propulsive quality, but every part is fascinating. The Arm is a must-read.

Boston Globe

The best baseball book of the year… Jeff Passan spent several years in clubhouses and operating rooms to report The Arm. It’s a close, exceptionally well-written look into the game’s epidemic of ruptured elbow ligaments, and the hard fact that medical science still has no real answers for it.

Booklist

‘Give[s] readers an insider’s perspective on the threat hanging over every player who takes the mound.

John Smoltz

This is the most important baseball book in years, not just for major league pitchers like me who had Tommy John surgery but for every parent who wants a child with a healthy arm. This is an epidemic that can be fixed, and The Arm is a great first step.

Entertainment Weekly

. . .A must-read for any sports dad or anxious Mets fan. A rating.

Ken Burns

This is a stunning exposé of the hidden story behind the most frequent operation performed on the most important players in this most important game in our country.

Booklist

‘Give[s] readers an insider’s perspective on the threat hanging over every player who takes the mound.

Library Journal

05/01/2016
Yahoo Sports baseball columnist Passan spent three years investigating the epidemic of broken and torn ulnar collateral ligaments (UCL), and the pervasiveness of its fix: Tommy John surgery. Failure of the UCL, located in the elbow, is an accumulation injury, although the specifics of its cause remain a puzzle. In 1974, Frank Jobe performed the first surgery on Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, who continued to throw in the majors until he was 46. The procedure that now bears his name has been performed on approximately 25 percent of current major league pitchers. Passan brilliantly combines an array of facts and information with dozens of personal accounts, giving special attention to the grueling post-surgery experiences of Daniel Hudson and Todd Coffey, which contribute to the book a common thread and emotional richness. Passan also explores the "youth baseball-industrial complex" (57 percent of Tommy John surgeries are performed on teens), the arm-care business and its host of both legitimate scientists and charlatans seeking explanations and vying for solutions, and the need for a cultural shift that leads to increased research dollars and better sharing of information. VERDICT Highly recommended for baseball fans, parents of young players, and those interested in sports medicine.—Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY

JULY 2016 - AudioFile

In 1974, Major League pitcher Tommy John was the first to undergo a new surgical technique designed to repair career-ending ligament damage in baseball pitchers. Baseball fans who know little about the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) will learn from this deep dive into the mechanics of the arm. Narrator Kevin Pierce captures the struggles and triumphs of players determined to return to their careers after suffering the ubiquitous injury and undergoing what has become a common medical procedure in the Major Leagues. The author travels the globe to learn details of the pitching arm, players, scientists, doctors, and many others. Pierce’s varying tones help listeners understand the historical, physiological, and athletic ramifications of the game-changing surgery—now called “Tommy John surgery”—that has saved countless careers. M.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169978414
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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