In reading about Tim Linececum, who won the National League Cy Young award, it reinforced my belief that pitchers today are getting paid more for doing less. For example, Linececum had 15 wins, the lowest ever for a starter in a full season of play. Of this total only four were complete games! And this was the most of any pitcher in the league!
Why don’t we see more 20 and 30 game winners? Many will say that it is due to better hitters but I disagree with this because the numbers do not substantiate it. The number of over 300 hitters is not increasing from year to year. It is easy to say is due to better pitching but then we find ourselves going around in circles making lame excuses that can’t be backed up.
Because many baseball coaches, players and fans believe that baseball pitchers are improving every year does not mean that this is really so.. If they are executing and performing on a higher level than ever before let us see the substantiation. If they were truly better we would see more complete games and more wins with complete games.
Their decline in performance I believe stems directly from the increased amount of money that they make. How many pitchers do you find completing more games, winning more games, having more strikeouts, or posting higher numbers in any other measurable area, after having a great season and signing a multimillion dollar contract? If you find any, they will be the exception to the rule.
Teams do not help matters any by having the pitchers pitch only every fifth day. They do this in an effort to “save” the pitchers but they do not last any longer than pitchers who threw every third or fourth day. In fact, pitchers who threw every third or fourth day had greater numbers of completed games and lasted just as long in the big leagues.
Professional baseball seems to be coddling and babying the pitchers rather than training them to be able to perform not only better, but for longer periods of time. They use absolutely no science in the training of the players and rely more on half-baked ideas that have little to no substantiation.
But yet, fans are led to believe that they are seeing greater and better players when in reality, mediocrity seems to be taking the place of truly outstanding performances. Isn’t it about time we got away from the excuses and looked at reality?
Instead of concentrating on pitch count, pounding the strike zone and pitching to contact, why don’t teams put a little concentration in on pitching technique and development of the physical qualities related to the technique? This will develop better pitchers capable of going more than just a few innings.