MANFRED HINTS AT MORE CHANGES TO COME!

At some point the insanity must stop.... right? That's what I keep telling myself. Maybe I am trying to convince myself, but Rob Manfred has been working in MLB since 1987 but sadly, he knows nothing about what makes baseball, baseball. He's made some changes to the game, and he's got some more on his radar.

Currently, Major League rosters are capped at 13 pitchers. The league average for innings per start decreased in 2023 and Manfred thinks it's a real issue, you can read more HERE. Manfred thinks fewer innings pitched means a diminished role in the game, he said "I think the way that pitching is being used right now has caused a diminution in that star kind of quality for some of our starters, and I do think it's an issue that we should talk about." 

Look, avid baseball fans know that starters today do not pitch deep into the game like they used to. Back in 1969 starters averaged 6.5 innings per start and by 2019 that dropped to 5.2 innings per start. I have heard my own family talk about watching Tom Seaver pitch almost 300 innings back in 1973. Those were the days. It's not the same anymore for sure, but a reliable, consistent starter is invaluable.

And let's not forget that back in the day, starters KNEW how to pitch. I think they did a better job making adjustments instead of now, teams tinker with their pitchers like they are science experiments and just overdo everything. Pitchers used to have a real understanding of the art of pitching, now it's just about going balls to the wall and exerting themselves to the max. It doesn't work.

So that's also why we see pitchers going down with injuries more. Now when we talk about injuries, Tommy John is the new normal. It is the expectation. It's not IF but WHEN and that's what's wrong with the game. That is what truly needs fixing. Let's get back to the art of being an effective pitcher rather than pushing a player's body to its limit until it finally breaks down. It's not rocket science.

So that is why I do not like this idea of decreasing the number of pitchers. According to Manfred, "I think the most direct way to get at it is numbers, limiting numbers on the roster," he said. "We went to 13. I don't think it's had the desired effect. There are a few numbers smaller than 13. Twelve would be next." While I think limiting number of pitchers on a roster is a bad idea, back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s teams only had 11 pitchers on the staff, some even had less. Back in the day it worked, now I think it would be an epic failure. The philosophy of the game has changed, but Manfred doesn't get it.

Look, I realize everything needs to evolve over time including baseball. I have slowly come to accept that. However, the more this tennis player who went to Harvard to study law talks about baseball....the more I hate that the man who doesn't understand the game, gets to tinker with it. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj