Major League Baseball is exploring the concept of requiring a minimum number of innings for starting pitchers.
“We are interested in increasing the amount of action in the game, restoring the prominence of the starting pitcher and reducing the prevalence of pitching injuries. There are a whole host of options in addressing those issues,” a Major League Baseball official said, according to ESPN.
A report from CBS said that this season, starting pitchers average about 5 1/3 innings.
Only 23 complete games have been pitched, and only two pitchers have completed more than one.
In 1984, the report said, pitchers were averaging about 6 1/3 innings per start. Twelve pitchers had at least 11 complete games each.
The concept comes with exceptions, meaning a pitcher could leave the game before six innings if he has thrown 100 pitches, given up four or more earned runs, or is injured (with a requirement to be put on the injury list to avoid faking).
The change would require a different approach to pitching.
“You would start to think about a repertoire that would get you through the lineup three times,” Chicago Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said, per ESPN. “You would want to develop that ability between now and when they implement the rule.”
The concept is a long way from reality and would be put in place in the minor leagues first.
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“The broader question of simply developing pitchers to pitch deeper in games is one that we talk about all the time within the industry, and it’s something that probably doesn’t get fixed if we attempt to address it only at the professional levels,” ESPN quoted what it said was a National League assistant general manager as saying.
“I think teams would approach their top prospects the same but maybe invest a bit more in the middle draft rounds to guys they think can command the ball with upside,” the assistant GM said.
“You would have to push command over stuff,” Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said. “Pushing [pitching to] contact would be the biggest thing to prepare guys to throw six innings on a consistent basis.”
“There would have to be some pullback on velocity, though that’s a tough thing, because that’s where you get outs,” he said.
This is so stupid.
Every starting pitcher wants to go six innings. Not all of them can. It’s not for lack of trying. Mandating it is idiotic. https://t.co/PnqmkqSXrj
— Blake Ruane (@blakeruane) August 15, 2024
In theory, pitchers would need to hone their craft to succeed.
“It’s different pitch mixes, different attack plans, different looks,” Chicago Cubs General Manager Carter Hawkins said. “It might weed out the guy that isn’t as efficient.”
However, one assistant general manager said telling pitchers to back on heat will be a hard sell.
“The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to max velocity. I’m not sure it can go back in, no matter the rules,” he said.
