I am watching the World Series. The Atlanta starter has a no-hitter after 5 innings and has thrown only 76 pitches. Yet the Braves take him out because they did not want him to face the Astro lineup a 3rd time.
I grew up watching baseball in the 1950s and 1960s. Starters were expected to go 9 innings. Starters were expected to throw 250 to 300 innings in a season. Then that expectation was lowered. It soon began to be "get me through 7 when I can go to the bullpen". Then it became "get me through 6 when I can go to the bullpen". Now once a starter has gone 5 innings, he is taken out and given high fives and slaps on his back for doing a great job.
The big thing now, thanks to analytics and sabermetrics, is that the starter should never face a batting order a 3rd time. As a result, you have what happened tonight in the World Series - a guy is taken out with a no-hitter after 5 innings.
I have always thought that your best pitchers are in the starting rotation. Why wouldn't you want your best pitchers be the ones pitching in crunch time? I just don't get it. But it appears that this is the present and the future - you tell your starter to give us 5 innings and they the bullpen will take over.
Here are some pitchers who led MLB in innings pitched. You can see the decline in innings pitched.
1949 - Warren Spahn with 302.1 innings
1953 - Robin Roberts with 346.2 innings
1960 - Larry Jackson with 282 innings
1966- Sandy Koufax with 323 innings
1974 - Nolan Ryan with 332.2 innings
1980 - Steve Carlton with 304 innings
1986 - Mike Scott with 275.1 innings
1993 - Greg Maddux with 267 innings
2000- Jon Lieber with 251 innings pitched
2007 - CC Sabathia with 241 innings pitched
2012 - Justin Verlander with 238.1 innings pitched
2018 - Max Scherzer with 220.2 innings pitched
2021 - Zach Wheeler with 213.1 innings pitched
I grew up watching baseball in the 1950s and 1960s. Starters were expected to go 9 innings. Starters were expected to throw 250 to 300 innings in a season. Then that expectation was lowered. It soon began to be "get me through 7 when I can go to the bullpen". Then it became "get me through 6 when I can go to the bullpen". Now once a starter has gone 5 innings, he is taken out and given high fives and slaps on his back for doing a great job.
The big thing now, thanks to analytics and sabermetrics, is that the starter should never face a batting order a 3rd time. As a result, you have what happened tonight in the World Series - a guy is taken out with a no-hitter after 5 innings.
I have always thought that your best pitchers are in the starting rotation. Why wouldn't you want your best pitchers be the ones pitching in crunch time? I just don't get it. But it appears that this is the present and the future - you tell your starter to give us 5 innings and they the bullpen will take over.
Here are some pitchers who led MLB in innings pitched. You can see the decline in innings pitched.
1949 - Warren Spahn with 302.1 innings
1953 - Robin Roberts with 346.2 innings
1960 - Larry Jackson with 282 innings
1966- Sandy Koufax with 323 innings
1974 - Nolan Ryan with 332.2 innings
1980 - Steve Carlton with 304 innings
1986 - Mike Scott with 275.1 innings
1993 - Greg Maddux with 267 innings
2000- Jon Lieber with 251 innings pitched
2007 - CC Sabathia with 241 innings pitched
2012 - Justin Verlander with 238.1 innings pitched
2018 - Max Scherzer with 220.2 innings pitched
2021 - Zach Wheeler with 213.1 innings pitched
