OT: Is MLB pitching getting out of control?

[aTotal360]

Merrifield fumes over 'pathetic' pitching after HBP

Whit Merrifield, after becoming the latest Braves player to get hit by an errant fastball, blasted the "pathetic" current state of pitching in MLB, saying "something terrible is going to happen."

www.espn.com

Part of me says "suck it up, buttercup" and part of me says "he ain't wrong".

What say ye?

 

[ronpolk]

"It's bulls---. You can't hit a guy anymore back. There's no fear that, 'Oh if I hit this guy, then our guy is going to get hit.' That's not the game anymore. Pitchers don't have to hit anymore, so they don't have to stand in the box."

Above is a quote from the article… he’s got a point. I’m not sure that it’s a huge problem right now but I wouldn’t want to stand in against someone throwing 100+ and he has no control of it.

 

[The Peeper]

I agree w/ him, if the pitchers had to come up next inning or next month or whenever to bat, they would suddenly develop a lot more control than they do now.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Hit the Bull.

 

[Drebin]

Part of the problem is the crackdown on sticky stuff. You don't want them with too much, but they need a little bit of tackiness on the ball. The hitters want that too for obvious reasons.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Something I’ve always thought about, even when I played……we stand up there in the box and allow a guy to throw a hard ball at us, generally as hard as possible.

That same guy is located 60’ away from you, who are trying to hit said ball as hard as possible. He’s also left exposed after the pitch.

I faced a guy throwing 92 once in high school (I still say the guns today are a little liberal). I never saw it. Couldn’t hit it if I got lucky, and couldn’t get out of the way if I wanted to. Maybe I just sucked, quite possible.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

We need @Bulldog Bruce 's take on this. No doubt he's faced pitching much harder/faster than any of us.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

We need @Bulldog Bruce 's take on this. No doubt he's faced pitching much harder/faster than any of us.

Wait a second…

SPS seeking expert advice?

I remember back when we would argue over everything and not value expert knowledge…

We’ve gotten old… **

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I remember Tony Conigliaro. I had my helmet cracked twice from a pitch. I think there are a few things at play.

First too many batters stand too close to the plate. Bonds and Tony Gwynn brought on the popularity of this hitting style and it seems to be the predominant way hitting is taught today.

Second. With the batting position and the guards batters wear now I see so many more batters "take one for the team". In the old days only Ron Hunt and Chico Esquala would lean into pitches to get hit. Now these kids just stand there and even move into pitches. Can't remember last batter I have seen hit the dirt.

Third. the pitcher has not had to bat in this game for over 50 years at this point. It does make them a little braver.

Finally. Overall more pitchers throw harder today. The guns today measure the pitch speed out of the hand where the old ones measured at the plate. Nolan Ryan would measure 108 on today's gun. So top speed is really not that different but there are no more Jaime Moyers or Greg Madduxes on MLB mounds today.

So unless they put in a Targetting like rule where one pitch at someone's head is an immediate ejection, I don't see how else to change anything. Stop with the whole warning nonsense.

 

[Braves Dawg]

CJ Nitowski said on the Braves broadcast the other night that in Japan if a pitcher hits someone in the head the pitcher is ejected immediately. He also said he expected MLB to adopt this rule soon.