Last month Team USA staff ace Max Scherzer had to withdraw from the World Baseball Classic due to a lingering finger injury. Scherzer has been dealing with a stress fracture in his right ring finger since last summer, though he pitched through pain well enough in the second half to win the NL Cy Young award.
Scherzer, now in camp with the Nationals, is still dealing with the injury, and he’s currently behind the team’s other starting pitchers. They’ve all thrown multiple bullpen sessions and simulated games. Scherzer has been playing catch, though it wasn’t until Saturday that he got up on a bullpen mound for the first time.
The finger injury doesn’t bother Scherzer when he throws his secondary pitches. Only when he throws his fastball. So, to help compensate for the injury, Scherzer has modified his fastball grip to take pressure off the finger. He’s throwing a three-finger fastball rather than the traditional two-finger fastball. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post has the details:
So instead of maddening games of catch, Scherzer chose to throw a limited bullpen Saturday. Instead of using two fingers for his fastball, as is and has been customary for major league starters for decades, Scherzer used three. That simple modification removes the pain, allowing Scherzer to maintain his delivery and build season-ready arm strength despite the surprisingly troublesome knuckle injury.
With a normal two-finger fastball grip, the ring finger is bent and that, presumably, is the source of the pain. With a three-finger grip, the ring finger is extended and resting on the baseball. It doesn’t sound like a big change, though the extra finger on the fastball could result in the ball moving a little differently.
Needless to say, Scherzer’s biggest fear is compensating for the finger injury in a way that leads to a more serious injury. He doesn’t want to alter his grip too much and put more stress on his elbow or shoulder. That can happen subconsciously. The three-finger fastball grip, while unusual, seems to help him avoid any additional pain.
As it stands, it’s unclear whether Scherzer will be ready for the start of the regular season. This new three-finger fastball grip allows him to throw bullpen sessions and build arm strength, which means he won’t continue to fall behind the other starters. The Nationals figure to be really good this season, and they want to make sure Scherzer is healthy and ready to go for the postseason. If that means taking it easy on him in March and April, so be it.
