In recent days, there has been speculation over whether or not Matt Harvey will pitch in the postseason if the New York Mets were to qualify. The disagreement was between Harvey’s agent and the Mets front office. Harvey finally cleared the air when he told reporters, “I will pitch in the playoffs.” Originally, doctors had given an innings limit of 180-185 innings for Harvey, which he would easily surpass if he continued to pitch in the regular season.  The consensus opinion is that the Mets will skip his starts, if they can afford to, until the end of the regular season.

This obviously raises the question of whether or not the innings limit is needed. The limit was suggested by Dr. James Andrews, who has a reputation of being the best doctor for Tommy John surgery. The open discussions from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, Harvey, and his agent Scott Boras have caused a real distraction that the Mets could do without as they make a playoff push.  So is the innings limit really necessary? Or is this just a meaningless, superficial limit coming off of Tommy John surgery?

Tommy John surgery primarily serves to reconstruct the UCL in the human elbow. It is the most prevalent surgery throughout baseball, especially among pitchers.  It is caused by the simple motion of throwing the baseball overhand, which is not a natural motion for the human body.  In today’s game, “85% of players who undergo Tommy John return to the sport, at or above their previous level of competition.” Given this statistic, why is Harvey’s agent so concerned about the innings limit which apparently was a recommendation.

My first thought is whether Harvey has a legitimate chance of injuring himself again. These statistics are where it becomes tricky, because injuries to the arm are somewhat common after Tommy John surgery.  Studies have shown that “19% of Tommy John patients will have a subsequent elbow surgery and 25% will have shoulder surgery.” Based on this, the concern over Harvey’s elbow are definitely warranted, especially because of the talent he has shown.

As an avid Mets fan, it would kill me to see Matt Harvey shut down for the season because he has thrown too many innings. In my opinion, the innings limit is so arbitrary because of the number of pitches thrown in each respective inning, as well as the pressure of the pitch.  I do not understand how Matt Harvey throwing 110 pitches in 6 innings is technically the same as if he threw 90 pitches in the same 6 innings. I believe that is the reason for the pitch count system in Little League baseball, which makes much more sense. I believe that with Harvey’s determination and will to be on the field he will be on the mound in the postseason. I do not see a scenario where anyone will be able to convince Harvey not to pitch in the postseason, especially if he physically feels good.