<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Will any of today\u2019s \u2013 or tomorrow\u2019s – generation of major league pitchers garner 300 wins or complete 150 games?\u00a0\u00a0 Toss 20 complete games or pitch 300 innings in a single season?\u00a0 Given the way the game is played today, any or all seem pretty unlikely.\u00a0 It is, in many ways, a whole new ball game for pitchers \u2013 and it\u2019s not the pitchers\u2019 fault.\u00a0 (Okay, it\u2019s not that new \u2026 a lot of the change occurred \u00a0during my lifetime.)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some of the factors.<\/p>\n

Five-man Rotation<\/span>s<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As we moved into the 1970s, teams started moving from four-man to five-man pitching rotations.\u00a0 Fewer starts, fewer opportunities for wins, complete games, innings pitched. \u00a0\u00a0(Notably, swifter travel\u00a0 – trains not planes \u2013 has contributed somewhat to this.\u00a0 With more travel time meaning more days between games, fewer pitchers were needed .\u00a0\u00a0 The change, however, goes deeper than five-man rotations and time between starts.\u00a0 Read on.)<\/p>\n

The \u201cQuality\u201d Start<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s game, 6 innings and 3 or fewer runs is a quality start.\u00a0\u00a0 Starting pitchers, as recently as the 1980s, would have considered six innings pitched a day off.\u00a0 Pitchers are no longer\u00a0 expected to finish what they start.<\/p>\n

The Advent of the Save<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Years ago, relief pitchers were mostly starters past their prime brought in to \u201cmop up.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, the \u201csave\u201d was not even established as a statistic until 1969 (saves were awarded retroactively for seasons prior to 1969).<\/p>\n

The Rise of Relief Specialist<\/span>s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, not only does the manager look to the closer (primarily for the ninth inning), the bullpen also features key \u201cset up\u201d men, earmarked for the seventh or eighth inning.\u00a0 And, not only do most teams have their seventh- and eighth-inning specialists, we also have people on the bench ready for long- and middle-relief.\u00a0 No wonder managers are so quick with the hook. \u00a0They’ve got to keep that multi-million dollar bullpen happy.<\/p>\n

The Dreaded Pitch Count<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And, of course, there is the \u201cpitch count,\u201d considering the financial investment teams have in pitchers, the thinness of pitching staffs (we do, after all, now have thirty teams), pitchers are treated with great care, often held to pitch counts in the neighborhood of 100 \u2013 no matter how well they are throwing.<\/p>\n

So, how significantly has all this changed the game? \u00a0Here\u2019s some statistical evidence.<\/p>\n

The Vanishing Complete Game<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 1955 that we saw a league leader in complete games with less than 20 finished starts (Whitey Ford, Yankees, 18 CGs).\u00a0 And, 1980 was the first year that a league leader notched less than 14 complete games.\u00a0 The last time, we saw 20 complete games in a season?\u00a0 Fernando Valenzuela in 1986.\u00a0 James Shields, in 2011, became the first pitcher to reach double-digits (11) in complete games in a dozen years \u2013 and earned a reputation as an iron man.<\/p>\n

Roy Halladay is considered the current king of the complete game having led the AL in complete games in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 \u2013 and led the NL in 2010 and 2011. \u00a0He did all of this without ever completing 10 games in a season<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong> In his career (as this blog is written), Halladay has started 363 games and completed 66 (18%). \u00a0By comparison, in 1975, the average<\/em> percentage of complete games among all MLB starters (the good, bad and ugly) was 27%. \u00a0 The 1975 CG leaders, Catfish Hunter and Andy Messersmith, ended up with career percentages of games finished to games started of 38% and 33%, respectively. \u00a0If we look at MLB complete game stats over time, we can be pretty sure we\u2019ll never see numbers like those again.<\/p>\n

– In 1900, 82.3% of games started were complete games;<\/p>\n

– 1925 \u2013 49.2%<\/p>\n

– 1950 \u2013 40.3%<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 1975 \u2013 27.2%<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 2000 \u2013 4.8%<\/p>\n

– 2011 \u2013 3.6%<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll also never see a pitching machine like Jack Taylor.\u00a0 Between 1901 and 1906 (Cubs and Cardinals), Taylor threw a record 187 consecutive<\/em><\/span><\/strong> complete games; or Will White (Cincinnati), who in 1879 completed a single-season record 75 complete games (in 75 starts).\u00a0 White went 43-31 that year, with a 1.99 ERA and 680 innings pitched.\u00a0 For his career, White completed 394 of 401 starts.\u00a0 Closer to today\u2019s game, in 1968, Don Drysdale set a record by tossing six consecutive complete game shutouts<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dwindling of Innings Pitched<\/strong><\/p>\n

Innings pitched?\u00a0 Think about this.\u00a0 From 1950-59, Robin Roberts AVERAGED<\/strong><\/span> 301 innings pitched per season. \u00a0And, if you pick any decade from 1900 through 1979, the average innings pitched for the league leaders was over or near 300.\u00a0 However, innings pitched have dropped significantly since Steve Carlton became the most recent pitcher to hurl 300 innings in (1980). \u00a0For the last decade, the average for league leaders has been shy of 250.\u00a0\u00a0 (As you might expect, Will White of the 75 complete games single-season record also holds the single-season innings pitched record at 680.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the chart of average innings pitched by league leaders (by decade) with major strike-shortened seasons deleted:<\/p>\n

Decade\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Average Innings Pitched by League Leaders<\/p>\n

1909-09\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 350<\/p>\n

1910-19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 348<\/p>\n

1920-29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 318<\/p>\n

1930-39\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 304<\/p>\n

1940-49\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 305<\/p>\n

1950-59\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 294<\/p>\n

1960-69\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 303<\/p>\n

1970-79\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 327<\/p>\n

1980-89\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 279<\/p>\n

1990-99\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 261<\/p>\n

2000-09\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 244<\/p>\n

2010-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 247<\/p>\n

Pitch Counts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also never see a game line-score like this one again.<\/p>\n

\u00a0May 1, 1920<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 000 010 000 000 000 000 000 000 00\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0 9\u00a0\u00a0 2<\/p>\n

Boston\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000 00\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 15\u00a0 2<\/p>\n

What’s so special about this line score?\u00a0 Starting pitchers Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston (NL) both<\/strong><\/span> went the distance \u2013\u00a0 with the game called due to darkness after 26 innings.\u00a0 Both starters threw more than 300 pitches (analysts estimate Cardore at 345 and Oeschger at 319). Oh, and here\u2019s another factoid, the time of the 26-inning contest was only 3:50 minutes.<\/p>\n

And, with that look at another way the game has changed, I\u2019ll end this rant and just say,\u00a0 I miss the days when hurlers were expected to finish what they started and when most games did NOT result in a parade of relief specialists.\u00a0 But, I don\u2019t blame the pitchers \u2013 the game has just changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will any of today\u2019s \u2013 or tomorrow\u2019s – generation of major league pitchers garner 300 wins or complete 150 games?\u00a0\u00a0 Toss 20 complete games or pitch 300 innings in a single season?\u00a0 Given the way the game is played today, any or all seem pretty unlikely.\u00a0 It is, in many ways, a whole new ball […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n