Pitching: A Sparse Opinion

by wgarrett on Oct 11, 2006 9:17 AM EDT

One person's sparse opinion on pitching.

A reason for the lack of pitching in the majors, be it a big or small reason (though I do think it is a big reason), is the current environment the major league baseball is played in. Many of the parks in existence are more conducive to offense. Also, the strike zone, though it was revised and the umpires were advised to call it differently, favors the hitters. Offense sells, one would assume, as the huge attendance numbers continue. As long as major league baseball continues to cater to the hitters, you will have pitchers reaching the magical 100-pitch limit too quickly, therefore causing them to pitch fewer innings, and teams will continue to have trouble finding good, or even decent, pitching.

What has to happen, I think, if it hasn't happened already, since there are no other changes in the works to help out the pitchers, is that the fans and media (if not anyone in the MLB) have to adjust how they look at a pitcher's numbers. For example, an ERA of 4.00 is probably pretty good in this day and age, where back about 15 years ago it would be considered rather high. I think the environment that pitchers work in today keeps them from achieving things like complete games, shutouts, no-hitters/perfect games, because it is easier for hitters to get on base via a hit or walk. Perhaps a pitcher with an ERA under 4.50 is actually above-average nowadays.

I, for one, would like to see a change, just enough to help the pitchers out a little bit. Maybe they could raise the mound a bit, or give them a larger strike zone to work with. If it hasn't been done yet, I would like to see a chart showing the scores of every major league game played in the last 30 years per year. If I could make a guess, I would say there are fewer low-scoring games now. I like offense but I don't like too much offense. What used to make a high-scoring game fun was the fact that it didn't happen regularly-- it's rarity is what made them enjoyable. So I think I enjoy low-scoring games now-- they just seem so rare.

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Expansion

I agree that it may be time to help pitchers out a bit. I prefer that mid-1980's style of play (more 2-1 games and what not).

However, I think the biggest factor in the decline of pitching was league expansion (yes, even more than 'roids). While there are many athletes who can whack a ball very hard, there are very few people on this planet who can pitch a game effectively, and they've been spread out thin across more teams.

"It's Father's Day today at Shea, so to all you fathers out there, Happy Birthday." -- Ralph Kiner

by dissento on Oct 11, 2006 9:59 AM EDT reply actions

Another thing

is the possibility that the increased intensity of competition at the youth level is damaging good young arms before they have the chance to make it to the pros.

With all these club and travelling teams, pitch counts are higher, the old taboo on letting kids throw curveballs is increasingly ignored, and I think careers may be getting sacrificed before they begin.

"He even tried to pimp it," Floyd said. "He's got no pimp." Said Wright: "I don't even know what that means."

by Billy Everyteen on Oct 11, 2006 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions