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July 23, 2010

Proof: Starting Pitchers Are Wimps These Days

Starting pitchers simply do not last as long as they used to 20+ years ago.

In 1988, they averaged 96 pitches per game

In 2009, they averaged 95 pitches per game

5 comments:

  1. Alan -- you may want to point out that 1988 was the first year that BP has data for Pit/GS. Otherwise it looks like you're cherry-picking data.

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  2. At the first link posted: "Complete pitch data goes back to just 1988 ..."

    I'd love to go further back, but I can't.

    1988: 96 pit/GS
    1990: 93 pit/GS
    1995: 94 pit/GS
    2000: 97 pit/GS
    2005: 95 pit/GS
    2009: 95 pit/GS

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  3. Please stop confusing our story with facts.

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  4. But if more pitchers pitched complete games (is that not true also?), were they just more efficient?

    I wonder how many pitches were thrown by starters in the 60s and 70s. 1988 seems like a fairly modern cut-off date.

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  5. I take it as a combination of more patient hitters today and pitchers who tend to nibble.

    The difference between then and now is sometimes a pitcher would throw a ton of pitches. It happened back then. It also happens now but a lot less.

    That's what I gather from it, anyways.

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