I went to Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago. I'm not a Yankee fan, I'm a Mets fan, but the tickets were free and food was free, so what the heck? Above all, I love baseball. I love it's pace, it's finesse and the skill to play the game at an advanced level. I got to see future Hall of Fame members Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter and young phenom Mike Trout, who did not disappoint.
Being at the Stadium, with all its ersatz grandeur and tributes to Yankee greats, I thought about why there are virtually no 20 game winners anymore and why so few players hit over .300. The answers are emblematic of the changes the professional game has undergone over the years. I remember watching a doubleheader between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Some will remember that most Sundays featured doubleheaders. The starting pitchers in the first game were the aces of the bullpens, Don Newcombe of the Dodgers and Johnny Antonelli of the Giants. In the second game, both Newcombe and Antonelli came back in relief. Admittedly this was unusual for Antonelli, but it was not so uncommon for Newcombe, who also served as a pinch hitter from time to time because the man could hit. Since the advent of free agency, this could never happen. I don't pine for the days when players were basically indentured servants. Can you imagine how much Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial or Ted Williams would make today?
In those days, there were multiple 20 game winners and .300 hitters every year. As I said, I've been thinking about what has changed. I think it's the advent of the pitch count. A hundred pitches is the regular limit for virtually all pitchers today. That means that they don't generally pitch deep enough into the game to get a win, or they are relieved by specialists for the 7th inning, the setup guy and the closer. Managers don't feel any compulsion to keep the starter in the game since he has a gaggle of relievers upon whom he can call when there is even a hint of trouble. Under these circumstances, winning 20 games is nearly impossible.
As for the demise of the .300 hitter, it's related. When there weren't specialists to bail out a team, the starter stayed in the game and was more vulnerable with each pitch. Today, a batter rarely sees a tired pitcher. So a position player will be more likely to succumb to his fatigue after say, 5 innings or so and then ends up facing fresh rested arms as the game goes on. Add to that the fact that there are a lot more teams, so the talent pool is diluted, and guys who would never have gotten out of the minors are suddenly on major league rosters both as pitchers and position players.
As the season reaches its end, I have lots of respect for those few hitters who are at or above .300, and pitchers who are approaching 20 wins.
