How Pitching Has Changed in the Last 40 Years of Baseball History

Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar died Friday April 2nd 2010 at age 72. The Orioles won three American League Championships and one World Series between1969 and 1971, and Cuellar had 20 or more victories each year. Last month, former relief pitcher and Hall of Famer Rich "Goose" Gossage commented in an interview with New York Times reporter Joe Brescia that while current Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is the best current day closer in the game, his achievements aren't comparable to those of relief pitchers of the past. Gossage stated that when he entered the Hall of Fame in 2008, he was told he had 53 seven out saves in his career, while Rivera had one and the Major League all time leader in saves, Trevor Hoffman, had two. While Gossage could be dismissed as yet another former player griping about how the game is different today than it used to be, there is an element of truth in his comments. The way pitching staffs are managed today is indeed, very different from Cuellar's day (career years of 1959 through 1977) or even Gossage's time (1972-1994).

How Pitching Has Changed: Starting Pitching

In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles had four starting pitchers that won 20 or more games that season. Four 20 game winners on one team was highly unusual even at that time, but typically a good team would have one or two, plus a couple of other starters with 15-19 wins. There were a total of fourteen 20 game winners in the majors in 1971. In 2008, there were four 20 game winners in the entire Major Leagues. And in 2009, there were no 20 game winners at all. Four pitchers won 19 games last year to lead the majors.

Why have these win totals changed so much? There are two main reasons. First of all, starting rotations today typically have five pitchers; in 1971, most starting rotations had only four pitchers, so with more starts, there were more chances for victories. Secondly, the emphasis was on pitching complete games, and relying less on the bullpen. The Major League leader in complete games in 2009 was Toronto's Roy Halladay with nine. In 1971, 43 pitchers had 10 or more complete games, and Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs led the majors with 30, a number that seems incredible today.

How Pitching Has Changed: Relief Pitching

From the 1970s into the 90s, the role of the relief pitcher known now as the "closer" evolved from being a pitcher that came into the game in the seventh, eighth, or ninth inning and finished the game to one who typically doesn't enter the game until the ninth inning with his team in the lead. By working fewer innings, a closer can pitch more often. The reason he can stay out until the ninth inning is due to the emergence of other relief specialists in the bullpen. Teams today use pitchers as situational relievers, something unheard of in the past. For example, a team may pull its starter in the seventh inning and replace him with one pitcher, use a second reliever in the eighth, and finish with its closer in the ninth. The eighth inning specialists will sometimes stay on to finish a game if the closer has worked a lot of innings and needs a break. Some relievers are used primarily just to get a right or left handed batter out. Pitchers working out of the bullpen are much more specialized now than at any time in the past.

Before the 1970s, the bullpen was often made up of second tier pitchers, players on the decline, and other hangers on, and while a few of these are still in today's bullpens, most pitchers have more specific roles. And managers sometimes maneuver their relievers like chess pieces. For example, last season I attended a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York. In the eighth inning, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa used four pitchers. Were the Mets scoring at will? Nope. The Mets held a 3-2 lead. All that maneuvering did keep the Mets from scoring that inning, but the Mets closer, Francisco Rodriguez, retired the Cardinals in the ninth inning to earn his 20th save of the season.

So Gossage is right, the game is different now, just as it was different in the 1930s than it was in the 1980s or the 2010s. It will, no doubt, continue to evolve.

Sources:
Brescia, Joe. 30 Seconds with Goose Gossage. Pinstripes Then, Now and Forever. nytimes.com March 6, 2010.
Klingaman, Mike. Former Pitcher Cuellar Dead at 72. baltimoresun.com April 3, 2010.
mlb.com
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