Sep 16 2008
Division of Labor Extends to Pitching Staffs
The days of one man pitching nine innings regularly are over. Hall of Famers like Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton used to pitch 20 complete games in an average season. Most current-day pitchers haven’t thrown half that many in their careers.
I know fans complain about pitch counts, situational relievers, setup guys, closers, etc. They wonder how some guy can earn $3 million a year and just pitch to one batter a game. There are 25 men on the roster for a reason. Every player has a role.
Think of it as a group project. I mean, you wouldn’t do an entire presentation by yourself if five other people were on your staff. You might write the script, someone else might be the speaker, someone could handle logistics and details, and another person could design the artwork.
On a pitching staff, the starter often works six or seven innings because there are several teammates available to help. The average team has a couple of setup men who pitch the seventh and eighth inning. The one picked on a given day depends on matchups, fatigue and current form. Most pitchers are right-handed, just like most people are right-handed. Many teams like to have one or two left-handers to face a specific batter. Someone like Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth or Reggie Jackson who can change the outcome in one swing often merits that special attention. Sometimes a new pitcher can disrupt an offense’s timing. When hard throwers replace craftier pitchers, batters who’ve been looking for sinkers all night have to adjust quickly. That’s not easy. Everything is geared to the closer, who usually pitches just the ninth. Teams want their closer to be fresh every day so he can get the last three outs, often the most difficult ones.
It can seem overly-specialized. The late innings can be very long if there are seven pitching changes. On the other hand, a lot of money is at stake. Your money and the team’s money.
If you need printing done for your presentation, you wouldn’t go to your favorite restaurant just because you eat there. Multi-tasking isn’t always a good idea. I remember from Microeconomics that a division of labor improves productivity. That’s why mass production and assembly lines became popular 100 years ago and replaced unit production. It isn’t cost-effective to make one widget at a time. It isn’t productive to let a pitcher throw when he’s tired.
