LOS ANGELES, CA — The use of analytics in the game today and the change it has brought at times are making it unrecognizable. Let’s take the Guardians’ pitching staff as an example. The team is currently 81-60 and leads the AL Central by 4.5 games. Their two top starting pitchers are Tanner Bibee (11-6) and Ben Lively (11-9).
After one hundred and forty-one (141) games into the season, none of the other 29 pitchers who have pitched for Cleveland has double-digit wins, and there have been zero shutouts and zero complete games. If it wasn’t for premiere closer Emmanuel Clase (4-2, 0.69 ERA with 56 Ks and 42 saves), their postseason odds would look a whole lot different.
Emmanuel Clase, recipient of 2022 AL LatinoMVP Relief/Closer award, may have more LatinoMVP honors on the way – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
All the ridiculous things the nerds who run baseball have instituted to make pitchers “Great Again” are not working. The new generation of player development people owns the problem. They have sold every coach, from youth baseball at every level, the idea that velocity is king and you will only get to the big leagues if you can throw 98-100 mph on 75% of your pitches.
One of the best in the game: Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery earlier this season – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
I wonder why there was a need to change the game so drastically.
What was the reason? Were we looking at a downward spiral in the performances of big-league pitchers?
Here is a small comparison of two similar big-league pitchers: one is in the Hall of Fame, and the other will be one day. Jim Palmer, who played from 1965-1984, and Max Scherzer, who began in 2008 and is still active:
| Jim Palmer | Max Scherzer | |
| Years Active | 17 | 17 |
| Innings | 3,948 | 2,874 |
| W/L | 268-152 | 216-112 |
| Complete Games | 211 | 12 |
| Shutouts | 53 | 5 |
Now, let’s look at injuries. Palmer had a few, like most players, who pitched at the highest level, but nothing serious. In just the past six years, Scherzer has a list right out of “Gray’s Anatomy.” Oblique (twice), Hamstring, Back (twice), Triceps, Neck, Side, Groin, Trap/Neck, Rhombold, and Nose.
Max Scherzer walks off the mound after being attended to by the Mets trainer in 2022 – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Two great pitchers, one who was trained and developed by seasoned “baseball men” and another scientifically brought along by nerds who never played the game at this level. When trying to reinvent the wheel, they have given us one with four sides.
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Julio Pabon
September 7, 2024 at 11:58 pm
Love your title. You make a very strong argument for how the game is changing and not necessarily for the best of the game.