Quote:
Originally posted by kawika!
PS-I do agree with jokeaward, that it's really hard for me to envision a time when baseball would go back to the deadball era, no matter what the circumstances. The trend of pitchers pitching less and less is a long, historical one, not a current hiccup.
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But that could change. Very careful studies have shown that pitchers in four- or even three-man rotations didn't suffer injuries or drop-offs in effectiveness at a greater rate than pitchers in today's five-man rotations.
Injury and pitching ineffectiveness is much more linked to having high pitch counts in individual games, not pitching more often with a reasonable load (like 100-110 pitches maximum).
If that sort of information catches on, some team or teams may well seek to get a competitive edge by dropping their fifth and maybe fourth starters (who will surely be worse than their top-three). If it works for them, that could spark a wave across baseball.
Historical trends are one thing, but with our knowledge always growing, revolutions can occur, returning to previous circumstances.