Re: Baseball Question
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Not sure. I think a lot of it is over-reacting. There really shouldn't be a "norm" for each pitcher. I mean Mark Prior and Kerry Wood should be yanked after 30, yet guys like Shilling, Johnson, etc. may be more liable to throw over 120.
Plus, what I find funny is how people have this misconception that 120 pitches is "20% more than typical", where 100 is "typical". This simply isn't true.
On game day, an MLB pitcher will throw probably at least 20-30 long-tosses in the OF, THEN throw about 40 full-effort pitches in the bullpen before gametime.
This means that if a pitcher throws 100 pitches during the game, he's really thrown about 160 that night. So, throwing 120 in the game is like 180 for the night.
180-160 = 20
20/160 = 12.5%
So in reality, what is perceived as 20% overtime, is really just 12.5%.
I think the main reason is that, with today's salaries, managers do NOT want to be the one to blame for a pitcher having elbow or shoulder problems. Back in the day, the players weren't such steep "investments".
Take Dusty Baker for example: Old school type manager who has already ruined Mark Prior. Not sure if that was part of his "4 year plan" when he signed on to coach! [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
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Pitchers don't usually throw 100% when warming up in the bullpen or when long tossing before a game.
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