Four-Man Rotation Could Soon Return to Major League Baseball

In recent baseball history, the four-man starting rotation has gone the way of the dinosaurs as teams try and protect the valuable arms of their starters. There are several reasons why this practice has gone away; including teams trying to keep their pitchers sharp throughout the entire 162-game season, but also a relaxed attitude toward what starting pitchers should be able to do.

Back in the first half of the 20th Century, it was expected that a starter would pitch most, if not all, of the ballgame. Bullpens were rarely used, and at the time, pitching across the league was as good as ever. However, with the huge salaries of today, many managers are reluctant to have a pitcher go more than 100 pitches, much less use a four-man rotation. There are, however, a few teams that are looking into maybe trying the four-man rotation in the second half of the 2009 season.

For about the last decade, the Texas Rangers have been a team that has a terrific offense, but a sub-par pitching staff. Then, according to ESPN.com, former Rangers ace Nolan Ryan returned to the organization as president of the club in 2008. During his tenure, Ryan has taken a hands-on approach to the team as a whole, but especially the pitching staff. Known for his toughness, Ryan has consistently worked with his pitchers on staying in games longer, thus relieving the stress placed on the bullpen. One of the things he has asked for is that his pitchers not look at their pitch count during games. His overriding agenda is for his pitching staff to take on a stronger mindset when going into games. He wants the pitcher to expect to pitch the entire game and not worry about how many pitches he is throwing.

An extension of this mindset is the idea of going to a four-man rotation instead of the current five-man rotation. This would increase the workload on each pitcher, but it would also allow the team to have their better pitchers pitch more often down the stretch. This is particularly important if the Rangers ever want to be in contention in the AL West and AL Wild Card with a team like the Angels, which are deep in pitching, battling for the division crown.

Any team that attempts the four-man rotation will have to have a favorable schedule when they make the move, or the pitchers could get worn down. The upcoming schedule would need to have several off days included so that the starters would get their normal four days of rest; just as they would in a normal rotation. This would let the team get their better pitchers on the mound more often, without really working any pitcher harder than they would under a normal rotation.

If either of these teams were to go with a four-man rotation, it would call back the days of great pitchers like Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Warren Spahn. According to Baseball-Almanac.com, these three greats combined for 1,291 wins, with 1,662 complete games during their careers. It was a different time, but if this idea expands across the league, Major League Baseball may once again see a 300-game winner; something that the current game may not see for a long time to come.

"Nolan Ryan returns to Rangers as team president." ESPN.com.

"The Ballplayers: A Baseball Player Encyclopedia." Baseball-Almanac.com.