Pitch Count
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
baseball statistics Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team. Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itsel ...
, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
in a game. Pitch counts are especially a concern for young pitchers, pitchers recovering from injury, or pitchers who have a history of injuries. The pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina. Often a starting pitcher will be removed from the game after 100 pitches, regardless of the actual number of
innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
, as it is reckoned to be the maximum optimal pitch count for a
starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
. It is unclear if the specialization and reliance on
relief pitchers In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...
led to pitch counts, or if pitch counts led to greater use of relievers. Pitch counts are sometimes less of a concern for veteran pitchers, who after years of conditioning are often able to pitch deeper into games. A pitcher's size, stature, athleticism, and pitching style (and/or type of pitch thrown) can also play a role in how many pitches a pitcher can throw in a single game while maintaining effectiveness and without risking injury. Pitch count can also be used to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of a pitcher. It is better under most circumstances for a pitcher to use the fewest pitches possible to get three outs. Pitching efficiency is typically measured by ''pitches per inning'' or ''pitches per
plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...
''. Opposing teams also pay attention to pitch counts, and may try to foul off as many pitches as possible (or at least any difficult-to-hit pitches) either to tire the pitcher out, or to inflate the pitch count and drive a pitcher from the game early in favor of a possibly less effective relief pitcher.


Youth limits

Little League has imposed a strict pitch count limit on pitchers. A pitcher must be removed immediately upon the current at-bat or the current half-inning ends, whichever comes first, upon reaching the pitch count per day. Once a pitcher throws 21 pitches (under 14) or 31 pitches (15–18) in a game, the pitcher must rest and not participate in pitching. Furthermore, pitchers may not be catchers if more than 40 pitches were thrown by the player.


Criticism

Before pitch counts became prominent in the 1980s, a pitcher primarily "pitched until he could no longer get anyone out or the game was over." As pitch counts have become more prominent, pitchers are often removed from games independent of whether or not they are tired or still pitching effectively. The use of pitch counts has been influenced by agents wanting to protect their clients, and organizations wanting to protect investments in their pitchers. This change has shifted the expectations of
starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
s from pitching
complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s to quality starts of six innings instead. Opponents of the pitch count have argued that the inclusion of the pitch count has hurt pitchers more than it has protected them. Critics of the pitch count argue that pitchers are "babied" and that many of the injuries that pitchers have suffered since the inclusion of the pitch count are from such treatment. Advocates who are against using the pitch count as a metric to measure pitcher performance include
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
broadcaster/Hall of Famer
Bert Blyleven Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...
; Hall of Famer, former Texas Rangers CEO/President, and current
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
executive adviser
Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...
; the late
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
Hall of Famer
Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
; and former
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...
manager
Jack McKeon Jack Aloysius McKeon (; born November 23, 1930), nicknamed "Trader Jack," is an American former Major League Baseball manager and front-office executive. In , at age 72, he won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. Two full seasons ...
.Brown, Tim
"No victor in Rays-Rangers culture clash"
''Yahoo! Sports''. April 30, 2009.
McKeon openly told his pitchers (and the media) that he did not keep a pitch count, and that he expected his pitchers to get into the mindset of completing what they started (i.e., for his starters to pitch a complete game). Ryan's sentiments are similar to McKeon's, declaring that pitch counts are largely frivolous. ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' sports writer Bruce Jenkins has suggested that a "relief" (i.e. lesser) pitcher should start the game, so that the "starting" (i.e. stronger) pitcher would play the more crucial later innings. This idea would eventually become known as the
opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland * Bottle opene ...
, and began seeing significant usage in 2018.
Rany Jazayerli Rany Jazayerli (born June 14, 1975), a Chicago-area dermatologist, is a co-founder of and writer for Baseball Prospectus. He developed the statistical concept of Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), which relates to high pitch counts in baseball. Jazayerli ...
estimates that two thirds of young starting pitchers from 1999 on are still playing five years later, compared to one of two between 1984 and 1998, and attributes the improvement to greater emphasis on the pitch count. Some argue that pitch counts do not account for easy outings for pitchers with big leads but higher pitch counts or pitchers in constant trouble in a game with lower pitch counts. Others feel the count is a self-fulfilling prophecy, where a pitcher can feel great until learning of his pitch count. However, author Peter Morris noted that "a lot more guys hit 10 homers a season these days", and pitchers need to throw their best stuff more often. Zimniuch 2010, p.71 "Guys who throw 100 pitches now are working harder than guys who threw 120 pitches a generation ago."
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
pitcher
Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
said hitters are "bigger, stronger, better, and they hit better. And parks are smaller now, let alone the
steroid era The history of baseball in the United States dates to the 18th century, when boys and amateur enthusiasts played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using homemade equipment. The popularity of the sport grew and amateur men's ball ...
." Hitters have also become more selective (making pitchers throw more
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
s) to increase their pitch count to get them out of the game earlier. Former pitcher
Gene Garber Henry Eugene Garber (born November 13, 1947) is an American former professional baseball sidearm relief pitcher who played for four Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations from to . Playing career Garber was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirate ...
says
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
s are calling a smaller strike zone, making it more difficult for pitchers to throw strikes. Television networks and stations only displayed pitch counts occasionally, with the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
's
NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports network, regional sports cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which ow ...
and
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
's YES being the first to do so within their full on-screen graphics at all times in 2010. ESPN soon followed suit, and as of Opening Day 2014, the Fox Sports regional networks, along with Fox's national package also adopted full-time pitch count displays.


History

Since the 1960s, it has not been common for the starting pitcher to pitch a
complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
. According to
Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...
pitchers have completed less than 30 percent of their starts every year since 1959. Comparisons with the
dead-ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...
pre-1920 are misleading, since the pitcher's behavior was very different. Some examples of high pitch count games include
26-inning game
on May 1, 1920 where
Leon Cadore Leon Joseph "Caddy" Cadore (November 20, 1891 – March 16, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1924. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cadore was orphaned at 13 and went to live with his uncle, ...
of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Joe Oeschger Joseph Carl Oeschger (May 24, 1892 – July 28, 1986) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Robins from 1914 to 1925. Oeschger is best known for ho ...
of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
pitched an
estimated Estimation (or estimating) is the process of finding an estimate or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable. The value is nonetheless usable because it is der ...
345 and 319 pitches; also,
Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...
threw 164 in a 198
game
aged 42. Stats LLC began tracking pitch counts in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, and MLB keeps official data since 1999. The highest pitch count since 1990 is 172, by
Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...
for the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
against the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
on April 27, 1993; however, it should be known that Wakefield's primary pitch was the
knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
, an off-speed pitch. Off-speed pitches are less strenuous on a pitcher's arm compared to a fastball. Pitch counts above 125 are increasingly rare: On June 25, 2010,
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
pitcher Edwin Jackson threw 149 pitches in a
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
. This was the highest pitch count in an MLB game since 2005.


See also

* Basic pitch count estimator: used to try to estimate the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher where there is no pitch count data available
Study: "The Impact of Pitch Counts and Days of Rest on Performance among Major-League Baseball Pitchers" by J.C. Bradbury and Sean Forman


Notes


References

*Jazayerli, Rany. 1998. "Pitcher Abuse Points: A New Way to Measure Pitcher Abuse", ''BaseballProspectus.com'' (June 19

*Jazayerli, Rany. 1999. "Pitcher Abuse Points – One Year Later: A Look Back...and Ahead", ''BaseballProspectus.com'' (May 28

*Jazayerli, Rany. 2001. "Rethinking Pitcher Abuse", ''Baseball Prospectus 2001'' (Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's): 491-504. *Woolner, Keith, and Rany Jazayerli. 2001. "Analyzing PAP", ''Baseball Prospectus 2001'' (Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's): 505-516. *Woolner, Keith. 2002. "PAP3 FAQ", ''BaseballProspectus.com'' (June 5

{{Baseball Pitching statistics Baseball pitching Baseball terminology