MLB pitching decisions are based on assumptions and definitions – beginners
The accepted assumptions are that all pitchers must be a certain height, and that all starters have the same pitching and inning limitations. Also, the definitions of an accepted number of pitches per inning and a “quality start” are metrics used throughout the Game, with no confirming evidence of their validity.
Yes, today’s athletes are bigger, stronger and faster, but the beauty of baseball is that none of that matters if a player proves by his performance on the field that he can compete with the best and be the best. Players come in all shapes and sizes, and they prove themselves by doing what they get paid to do; pitchers taking out batters. Note that listed player heights are as reliable as a birth certificate from the Dominican Republic. Also, the six inches between your ears is often more important than your physical height.
Who decided that 100 pitches should be the limit, each game, for starting pitchers and total innings, each year, for young pitchers should also be capped to extend their careers? Why have these limitations been so widely accepted without empirical evidence that they really work? Today, why is throwing a baseball perceived to be the only activity in any sport that is expected to improve by doing less of it? Command the scouts to find the perfect thrower prototypes, then restrict their ability to improve muscle memory, stamina, and learn their craft, by not throwing. Who thought that, Mork or ET?
A limit of 100 pitches is not a rule, it is not based on facts; instead, it is an absurd assumption. Also, a limited pitch count translates into a “fewer innings is better” assumption. Some pitchers are well done with 60 pitches; others are just getting up to 100. We are talking about individuals with many different levels of ability and endurance. Setting an arbitrary number to cover all pitchers in all situations defies logic. Are warm-up pitches before each inning considered, or pick-off pitches, or pitch-outs, or intentional walks, or the intensity of the game situation, or the type of pitches being thrown, fastballs , curveballs, sliders, knuckleballs? , etc.? What about “waste” pitches that are called by a catcher when a batter has two strikes, standing up and putting his glove over his head for a target? (I hate that.) If the hitter is expected to swing at that pitch, he tells you what the catcher thinks of his discipline at the plate. If he doesn’t swing, then it’s just an aimless pitch that brings the pitcher closer to the dreaded 100. Overhand pitch, well, overhand, no. Why should a pitcher on a pitch waste pitches? Pitch purpose, yes. Disposal court, no. What is the proper combination that should allow a pitcher to exceed the prohibited limit, or is there such a thing? No, there is no right mix. Managers will even cut starting pitchers before starting another inning if there is only the potential threat of reaching 100 in that inning. A pitcher’s effectiveness, or lack thereof, should tell a manager everything he needs to know to let him continue or get him out of a game. Being able to count to 100 should not be the criteria for throwing decisions.
To strengthen the 100-pitch limit, baseball has also adopted 15 as the number of pitches that is the acceptable goal for starting pitchers to reach each inning. It follows that after six innings of 15 pitches a pitcher reaches 90 pitches and pitching in the seventh inning would possibly hit 100, requiring a relief pitcher to enter the game. Since the current practice is that relief pitchers should be allowed to start each inning with no runners on base, the only practical solution is for the starting pitcher to be removed from the game and a relief pitcher inserted. This is a very neat formula that results in a “quality start” of six innings after giving up three earned runs, or fewer. The convenient result is that if the manager relieves the starter, he’s happy, because six innings is all that’s expected of him, the relief pitcher starts the next inning with nobody on base, so he’s happy, and whatever happens , the manager can. t be blamed, for following the accepted script, for which he is happy. Win or lose.
There are now 74 pitchers in the Hall of Fame, six of whom were inducted as relievers, leaving 68 starters. Of those starting pitchers, 42 had more Complete Games than win! There are plenty of other pitchers who CGed more than Wins who aren’t in the Hall. Even including relievers and recent members, Hall’s average is still 253 wins, 259 CG and a 2.98 ERA. Those stats won’t last much longer, but they illustrate the tremendous difference in what’s now expected of a starting pitcher.
Those lower expectations for releases and entries have resulted in the definition of a “quality start” as mentioned above. Brutal! That definition results in a 4.50 ERA for a nine-inning game, when the average number of runs currently scored per game is lower. Any starting pitcher with a 4.50 ERA will have a hard time producing a winning record and staying in a team’s rotation, hardly quality. Also, aren’t minor league games six innings?
In the 1971 book, this great gameOrioles manager Earl Weaver said of his starting pitchers, “Before the season starts, they’ve built up their arms and legs to the point where any one of them will be able to throw 100 to 160 pitches a game from the opening”. game on.” Wow, up to 160 pitches on opening day. He also said, “I try to find four guys who can give the club 250 to 300 innings a season. My pitchers like to pitch every four days. That is what they are trained and conditioned for. They’re not happy any other time. And I don’t shoot as well if I try to get around good opposition.” Wow, again, up to 300 entries on three days off.
To further illustrate the vast difference between then and now, the 1954 Cleveland Indians won the 8-team American League pennant with 111 wins. Their starting pitchers had 77 CGs in a 154-game schedule, (50%) with an MLB best-team 2.78 ERA and no DH. The league had 463 CG. Compare that to the AL in 2016, with 15 teams and a 162-game schedule, which had a total of 44 CGs, with the DH. The team’s best ERA was 3.78. Despite all protests to the contrary, today’s pitching is no better.
The bigger question is how did all those starters, in the past, with all that CG manage to throw all those ninth innings, without needing a closer, after throwing all those pitches, game after game, after game, on three days’ rest? . , and no DH in sight? Magic?