Latest pitcher Stories

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay will be out of action for at least a month after breaking a bone in his left leg during Friday's game against the Texas Rangers, the team announced on Saturday. Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list, with team officials speculating he could miss up to six weeks after sustaining a non-displaced fracture in his lower leg when he was hit by a Kevin Mench line drive in the third inning. The Toronto ace still managed to throw...

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez has pulled out of Tuesday's All-Star Game in Detroit. Martinez, second in the National League (NL) with 129 strikeouts, said on Thursday that it was not right to occupy a roster spot if he was unavailable to pitch. "I'll concede my place on the team," he said. Martinez, who has a 9-3 record and a 2.80 earned run average, is scheduled to pitch for the Mets in Pittsburgh on Sunday. "Normally I don't throw 100 percent two...

Study finds force of pitches can damage nerves, blood vesselsIn a typical pro baseball game, a minor or major league catcher stops about 150 pitches, many slamming into his glove at speeds well over 90 mph. Add in pre-game practice throws, and the total number of catches climbs as high as 300 a day, experts say.Now, a new study finds that despite recent improvements in glove design, that kind of repetitive pounding is causing long-term, irreversible damage to many catchers' hands --...