Does it seem like Starting Pitchers are getting yanked earlier and earlier every year? It seems like Major League Baseball Teams aren’t allowing pitchers to go longer than 5 innings anymore. What is changing? Why are teams doing this now? Whatchu talkin bout? Let’s see what we can uncover!
Pitchers Aren’t Going Deep Into Games Anymore
Is it just me? It seems like every game I watch (and I watch a bunch over the course of a day), that pitchers just are getting chased in the mid innings every night. As I am sitting here typing this, Caleb Smith is going for the Marlins against the Dodgers, he’s already at 70 pitches with 2 outs in the THIRD…..70 PITCHES….in the THIRD! When I was pitching in college, I never got to 70 pitches in the third. More like the sixth. Why are Major League Baseball Teams allowing this to happen? What is going on that are causing pitch counts to go to through the roof!? I have a couple ideas….
One Team Averaged 6 Innings Pitched Per Start Last Year
Doesn’t that just sound ridiculous? One of 30 Major League Baseball Teams averaged Six Innings Pitched per Game Started (IP/GS) last year. Anyone know who that team was???? The Washington Nationals (per Baseball Reference). The Nationals averaged 6.0 innings pitched per start. All other 29 were below six innings. Miami Marlins (see above) and Cincinnati Reds average 5.1 innings per start. So all 30 Major League Baseball Teams are between five to six innings pitched with an average of 5.5 IP. Let’s date back 10 years to 2007. Of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams, seven teams averaged their starters over 6 innings pitched (six were American League Teams) with a MLB average of 5.8 IP. Let’s date back 20 years now (1997). Half, yes half of the Major League baseball teams were averaging over six innings pitched by their starters. Even your Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals) were getting in on all the fun of saving their bullpens!
Change in Philosophy
I think we’re having a change in philosophy in baseball as well. Here’s what I am doing, I am changing up my whole offensive ideas in MLB The Show 18. In games past, I used to look fastball and adjust. This year, I noticed I wasn’t having much success, so I changed it up. This year I am looking at more location, then pitch. I am better at looking down and away in the zone (I’m a lefty). I punch a lot for base hits. I hit-and-run a lot, it works. When the pitchers adjust to me, I’ll start going elsewhere. With my A’s franchise, I am hitting over .300 as a team and averaging 9 runs a game. Majority of the time, I have chased the pitcher by the fifth (unless you’re Houston Astros pitcher named Justin Verlander). I am noticing some of the same in Major League Baseball. Maybe not so much my theory of hitting on a video game, but players are looking for their pitch to drive that could be sending pitch counts up. Sabremetrics probably play a bit of a role in this as well. Players are studying pitchers tendencies, where they’re throwing what pitch, when, where, and how often. The adjustments of defenses are on every hitter is changing the way pitchers throw. The Houston Astros this year alone lead the Majors in overall shifts by a LONG SHOT. Don’t believe me, look it up.
How to keep YOUR Pitch Count down!
Now, once you get to the show (not the video game, unless that’s’ what we’re striving for here….if so, let’s play), you will just have to adjust with the times. If you do not adjust, you will not last. If you’re an up-and-comer, throw strikes! First pitch strikes go along way in the way the at-bat will go. In a hitters mind, there’s a big difference in approach between 1 ball, no strikes, to no balls, 1 strike. If you start the at-bat 0-1, your approach to the next couple of pitches are endless. If you want the batter to chase, throw one out of the strike zone. If you want to challenge, throw a challenge strike. The batter will have no idea what you’re going to do next. They will have to adjust to YOU. If the count were 1-0, you next pitch has to be a strike. You don’t want to go 2-0, then the batter knows you have to throw a pitch they can drive. If you strive for 80% first pitch strikes, your pitch count will be significantly lower and have more success.
Adjustments
The higher the level you get in baseball, the more adjustments hitters will make to you, and you’ll have to make to the hitters. If you don’t make the adjustments needed at the higher level, you won’t last long. Reason why we still see the likes of Big Sexy (Bartolo Colon), Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander still doing their thing, they’ve made adjustments over time. They throw strikes, which lowers the risk of “high risk” pitches which brings stress pitches on and will lower your stamina. No one has ever mastered the craft of pitching (even though Rollie Fingers got close) and no one ever will. Keep working on your game, throw strikes, and hopefully we will see you on one of those 30 Major League Baseball Teams……where we can adjust to your pitching!
