Koufax/Pitch Counts

markj111

FWIW-from Baseball Prospectus.

Date IP H R ER HR BB K Pit
5/6/1960 9.2 9 5 5 2 7 15 175
5/11/1960 7.2 6 4 4 0 5 5 139
5/19/1960 8.2 9 5 3 0 3 10 143
5/23/1960 9 1 0 0 0 6 10 135
5/28/1960 13 3 4 3 1 9 15 193

mlbfan2

205 in this game.

Dboneesq

Here are a few eye openers as well.

1. In 1974, according to beat writers in attendance, Ryan threw 259 pitches in a 12-inning win over Kansas City.

2. On May 1, 1920, Brooklyn and Boston played a 1-1 tie that lasted 26 innings. Incredibly, pitchers Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger each went the distance. Historians estimate that Cadore threw 345 pitches, Oeschger 319.

3. In 1963 there was a matchup between the Giants' Juan Marichal and the Braves' Warren Spahn, each going the distance in a 16-inning game that ended on Willie Mays' homer. Marichal threw 227 pitches that night. There was a point when his catcher, Ed Bailey, told him "Don't let them take you out. Win or lose, this is great.""

bking

<< <i>

<< <i>Still the biggest mystery in life to me is why the four-man starting rotation became five. >>


like most things in life, the answer, in whole or in part, is money. >>



Bingo. $25K pitchers were expendable; $15M ones aren't.

bking

<< <i>I hear what you guys are saying about the money but I'm just not generally aware of any more injuries in pitching them more, and more frequently, as oppose to coddling them as they do in recent times. There are so many examples of pitching injuries in the past couple of decades. In fact, I would think a four-man rotation might help with the finances as you would only need to payroll 4 primary starters, which are expensive roster positions to fill. >>



I felt the same way until I did a bit of simplistic research. Got to Baseball Reference and pick a few teams from the 60's/70's. Then check out the amount of rotation turnover there. While the studs have always been studs, the number of mid-level pitchers who tore up their arms and were never the same is pretty damning.

NVbaseball

<< <i>Still the biggest mystery in life to me is why the four-man starting rotation became five. I'd love to see the medical statistics on why that was necessary. There seemed to be an abundance of pitchers who threw a ton of games and innings under the four-man rotation. >>



The four man rotation was very short lived in baseball history and not how most teams used their staff for full six month schedules. For a long time their were doubleheaders scheduled every week; along with using most starters as relievers, six-man rotation was the standard for most of the 154-game seasons

The Indians let Feller start every fifth game for a few years, but only once managed to have another pitcher start more than 30 games. From 1920 until 1962 the very best pitcher, Lefty Grove, only started more than 30 games five times

I think Drysdale was the only non-knuckleball pitcher to start 40 or more games in more than two consecutive seasons. Very few others ever made it even two years in a row: Carlton, Jenkins and Koufax are the only three I can locate

Something really interesting: The two best pitchers of the so-called four-man rotation era, Gibson and Seaver, both had career highs of only 36 starts in a year

The 20 complete games and 300 innings are a different issue

Dboneesq

<< <i>I think Drysdale was the only non-knuckleball pitcher to start 40 or more games in more than two consecutive seasons. Very few others ever made it even two years in a row: Carlton, Jenkins and Koufax are the only three I can locate. >>


Denny McLain started 41 in '68 and '69.

Edited to add: And he completed 51 of those 82!!!

Second edit: WOW! Drysdale did it FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS!!!!

perkdog

Maybe Im off base here and in a way Im contradicting myself by saying this because I know that these pitchers mentioned threw just as fast as modern day players but todays athletes are stronger and with the extra strength isnt there more of a chance of injury?

NVbaseball

<< <i> There have been a lot of front line pitchers who have pitched every 4 starts >>



Having one pitcher starting every fifth game is not a four-man rotation

Mickey Lolich started 40 or more games four consecutive seasons