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I think it's also a myth (it's certainly become policy in the majors) that managers must call the game from the dugout. Wasn't that long ago when pitchers and catchers did it themselves.
Pitch count is definitely the myth of today's game. Years ago, pitchers tossed complete games and could still pitch for 20 years, win 20 games a year, and strikeout 200/season. Look at folks like Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, and many others. If they pitched today, they'd be taken out in the 7th inning.
When did the burning bush reveal to us that a pitcher's arm will fall off if he pitches more than 100 pitches a game? Where did this nonsense come from? It's added another set of rules around "setup men" and "closers" and how the bullpen is rested. Years ago you got 8 or 9 innings from your starter so you didn't have to worry about many innings your bullpen has pitched.
When did the burning bush reveal to us that a pitcher's arm will fall off if he pitches more than 100 pitches a game? Where did this nonsense come from? It's added another set of rules around "setup men" and "closers" and how the bullpen is rested. Years ago you got 8 or 9 innings from your starter so you didn't have to worry about many innings your bullpen has pitched.
I suspect it was the burning bush concocted by the God of Marketing. "Thou shalt use many players, howbeit there shall be additional commercial breaks." (That's from the Book of Sports on TV, chapter 11, verse 5).
An interesting article about the myth of pitch count. I've also been reading up on what Nolan Ryan is doing with conditioning at Texas and his disdain for counting pitches. It will be interesting if Texas goes against conventional wisdom and has an impact on other teams one way or the other.
Not sure I agree with many of the stated sentiments here. Regarding pitch count and the "good old days", I agree that some pitchers had great careers with multiple seasons of high inning and pitch counts. However, many more very good pitchers burned out at very young ages due to a season or two of very high usage. Examples of these pitchers are guys like Ray Sedecki, Ernie Broglio, Art Mahaffey, Bill Monbouquette, Dick Ellsworth, Joey Jay, Larry Dierker, Doc Medich and John Muntefusco.
If anything, I think a myth today may be the need for a five man rotation. I think with the pitch count management, a four man rotation may be just as effective, and not shorten pitching careers. This would allow you to get more innings out of your top pitchers, while still limiting pitches per outing.
If anything, I think a myth today may be the need for a five man rotation.
This goes to show that myths change over time. In the 1880s, the belief that teams didn't need more than one pitcher prevailed. Baseball teams carried two pitchers: one regular, and a backup to be used only if necessary. (This is how Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourne racked up his currently unattainable record for single season victories when he went 60-12 pitching for the NL's Providence team in 1884. And, despite the image of his arm falling off, he pitched in the majors for 12 years...with nine of them resulting in more than 20 wins!)
These days, people think that teams need four or five man rotations, and a barrel full of relief pitchers. The wonderful world of myths; who knows how baseball will be played in 2050?
The Rule Book. The balk, the strike zone and the half-swing are undefined. They have changed ever year for decades, without a single word being changed in the rule book. The umpires get together as a cabal in the winter and decide what they are going to call, but do not publicly announce it. They probably inform the managers in spring training, but they, too, are apparently sworn to secrecy.
I would challenge any MLB umpire to show me a video of what he has called a balk, and then read me the exact wording from the rule book that would define that as a balk.
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