4 man pitching rotation

[monkey]

What ever happened to the 4 man starting pitching rotation?

It seems that there are more and more arm injuries these days. What is the advantage of the 5 man rotation? It seemed like in years past, there weren't so many arm injuries, and yet pitchers pitched more innings.

These days a complete game is a rare event indeed. What ever happened to guys like Tom Seaver, Ferguson Jenkins, Steve Carleton, etc. etc. etc. These guys pitched a Lot of innings year in, year out. they would routinely throw ten or fifteen complete games a year.

Do you think there is any team these days that would give the 4 man rotation a try?

[Jimbo21]

... taught and thrown at an earlier age, is the likely source of additional arm injuries...

[Misha77Piazza]

I agree with Jimbo. I've been teaching my 9 year old son how to pitch but wouldn't let him pitch the curveballs nor submarine pitches that are likely to cause the arm screw ups. And I set a limit to how many pitches he throws (in practice only, not an actual game which is up to his manager). Luckily, he only throws a far and few between anyway since he is good at other positions. :biggrin:
Nowdays there are very few four man rotation when there is an injured pitcher which is rare though.

[loser69]

The reason is MONEY! You pay someone 10 million a year and you will do whatever it takes to keep him healthy.
And Misha, you are wise!!

[monkey]

But that's my point. Pitchers today seem to get arm injuries MORE often than they did back in the days of the 4 man rotation. Kerry Wood, Ramon Martinez, Andy Ashby, now Kevin Brown, and even Pedro Martinez. Maybe pitching every four days is BETTER than every five days. It didn't seem to harm guys like Ferguson Jenkins, Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, Steve Carleton, Nolan Ryan.................

When was the last time any pitcher had 10 complete games? These days a twenty game winner is such a rarity. There might be one or maybe two in each league each year. It used to be that was the measure of a 'quality' starter, a guy who could win 20 games.

Now let me see, Human evolution hasn't progressed that much in the last 25 years. So what's the deal? Is it the style of pitching that has changed?

[Jimbo21]

... in the day of the 4 man rotation, a guy got 40 or so starts and if he won half of them, he won 20 games. In the 5 man rotation, you will get about 30 starts and have to win 67% of them to win 20 games... the math is pretty basic. A guy winning 20 games today is doing a great job.

[monkey]

Absolutely. To win 20 games in a 5 man rotation is an awesome accomplishment.

So would anyone else like to see a return to 4 man starting rotations? I would.

[Baseball Guru]

First off let me officially welcome you to the site monkey....We are glad to have you and hope you continue to post....I see you're from Japan, that is cool.....Who is your favorite team???
Back to the question...
I personally like the 4 man rotation as I hate seeing a scrub 5th starter out on the mound every 5 days.....I agree that the trick pitches have a lot to do with arm troubles and it seems you had less arm troubles when guys were pitching more....
It is because of the 5 man rotation you see less and less pitchers win 20 games for the point that Jimbo mentioned...It will also be the reason that besides Clemens (possibly) that we probably will not see any other pitcher achieve 300 wins in their career....
So I think for the most part as long as there is the 5 man rotation and it ain't going anywhere most pitching records are safe and the hitting records are in jeopardy.....Simple, your # 1 and 2 starters are pitching less so you are not seeing as much quality pitching as you did with the 4 man rotation....

[monkey]

Hey JamesMetFan,
Thanks for the warm welcome to the forum. I love to talk baseball, never get tired of it.

I am living in Japan, but I am an American. My favorite teams?

Dodger Blue!!! My number one team is the Dodgers.

My second favorite NL team would have to be the Mets, though I really would like to see the Cubbies win this year.

My favorite american league team. No doubt, the Boston Red Sox!! Though I also love the Angels.

But this year you can't help but like the Mariners. Especially living in Japan. Believe me, Seattle's got more fans in Japan than anywhere, including the entire pacific Northwest!

Thanks again, look forward to talkin witcha.

[Yankee 21]

Welcome to our humble abode Monkey!
I like the 4 man rotation better, also. But as you have stated, injuries have caused teams to go to a 5 man rotation. I think alot of the injuries are due to the trickier pitches being thrown today.

James, Your gonna love this---When I go to Toronto on the 29th, if the rotation stays the way it is now guess who's gonna be pitching-----------Clemens:eviltongu :confused: Why Me? Is it too evil to hope somebody comes down with the stomach flu or something so the rotation will change?:devillook

[Baseball Guru]

Ha Ha Kellye...
Now does that stay the same since he started todays game 1 day early or does that include today???

[Yankee 21]

If he was pitching tonight, it would change but as of right now--I'm stuck with him! I'm plotting a kidnapping since I'm staying in the same Hotel!:devillook
I just reread your post! Did he start today????????? cuz it was Lily's turn! If he did then we might see Andy pitch instead!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm soooooo psyched now!!:biggrin: :biggrin: