Baseball is a very grueling sport for pitchers, especially in today’s style of play. We see pitchers throwing 100 mph and battling Tommy John, but that might not be the worst injury. The most frustrating injury for pitchers is a blister.
Comparing injuries is dumb, as all injuries suck, but not enough people know the struggle of a pitcher getting a blister. This article will shed some light to that annoying bubble on your finger.
Small but Mighty
You may be able to battle through a blister as a position player, but having a blister on your throwing hand as a pitcher is almost impossible to play through. Blisters are not very common, but how are they caused?
Most of the time, blisters occur; they are developed from throwing the ball. When your finger continuously rubs on the seams, a blister can develop. The further you try to push through it, the worse it will become. Blisters typically are treated quicker at the Major League level because the coaching staff understands how serious they are. Oftentimes at the lower levels, blisters are not treated properly and can make you miss multiple weeks. If you try to pitch before the blister is 100% gone, you just bought yourself more time on the bench.
The middle finger is the most likely candidate to have one of these annoying bubbles on. That finger is typically the final finger on the ball when it is released. As a former pitcher who did not understand the severity of my blister, this article hits right at home.
At the end of the day, you are probably going to get made fun of for missing time with a blister, but trust me, you will be glad you did not test that little thing on your finger.
Blisters in MLB
MLB has a long history of blisters, as does all levels of the game. Let’s go back to 2016, where you might remember Rich Hill battling that hill that sat on his middle finger.
Even pitchers thinking about blisters being so powerful is silly.
“To miss a couple weeks because of a blister is something else,” Hill said. “But it’s a big part of it. It’s like the steering wheel of a car. You need it.
Now, after reading this far, you are going to be shocked that somebody in the pitching world embraces blisters. Kevin Gausman has publicly embraced this injury, and for that, he is a psycho. He notes how if he does not develop a blister, his splitter was not as effective as he needed it to be.
There is never going to be a day when blisters do not play in roll in baseball, but we need to acknowledge that. These injuries are small but mighty and need to be treated as if they are more than just a small blemish on a finger.
