Yu Darvish is blaming his probable need for Tommy John surgery on the American practice of five-man rotations. He claims that the six-man rotation they employ in Japan prevents Japanese pitchers from getting Tommy John surgery because that extra day allows the elbow ligament enough time to rest between starts.

Which is a perfectly good explaination except for one thing.

It’s not true.

The fact is, Yu Darvish is only the third Japanese pitcher that came here to pitch and has subsequently needed the surgery since it was first performed, coincidentally, on Tommy John in 1974.

The long, arduous list goes:

Yu Darvish*
Tsuyoshi Wada
Daisuke Matuszaka

Next theory, please.

Here is a complete list of pitchers needing Tommy John surgery.

*Still unconfirmed.