I received a question recently from a high school varsity coach
He asked, “Should we be overhead pressing or “training shoulders” in our team workouts?”
The answer is specific to the population: general population folks can certainly overhead press. Use a hammer grip, which is more gentle on the shoulder than overhand, and perform a good volume of retraction, and you’ll be fine
However, for baseball athletes, I would recommend not doing it
I recommend that because one of the reasons why the shoulder has such great mobility overhead, allowing you to perform tasks like throwing a baseball, is because the acromial space of the shoulder is purely soft tissue
So when a baseball athlete overhead presses, cleans, snatches, etc, the front delt will be heavily developed as a result
The issue is that then squeezes the acromial space, greatly predisposing a baseball player to impingement, much more so than otherwise
That creates issues in the shoulder, as well as down the chain into the elbow as well
Part of the unique dynamic that is training baseball players is understanding the shoulder and its anatomy, and doing everything possible to keep the shoulder healthy and durable.
-Fenske