Forget age - Great mechanics should dictate a promotion to the Bigs
One thing that has bothered me since I retired after the 1996 season is the way pro baseball pitchers have been handled--or should I say mishandled.
Not many people will ever be blessed with the skills necessary to pitch at the Major League level. When the Washington Nationals drafted and signed Stephen Strasburg, it marked a new beginning for them and the start of Stephen's pro career.
He is a very special young pitcher, just like Tim Lincecum, Tommy Hanson, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
Some of the hype surrounding those players has been expected, but some of these pitchers, I feel, were pressed into big league action before they were ready. I truly believe that pitch counts are way overrated and great mechanics, not throwing across your body, repeating your delivery and protecting your arm are way too overlooked in today's game.
Were Kerry Wood and/or Mark Prior rushed to the bigs? Were they too young, or were they not taught properly? We may never know that answer.
My idol growing up, and even when I made it to the pros, was Nolan Ryan - why? - not just because he had a great fastball, but he also had the mechanics to last well into his 40s.
The same goes for Greg Maddux. I wish the same for all of today's pitchers, including Stephen Strasburg. I don't think age should dictate when you should be put in the Big Leagues.
Tim Lincecum made 13 minor league starts and threw 65 innings before finishing the 2007 season with SF by making 24 big league starts and throwing another 150 innings. Tommy Hanson of the Braves made 75 minor league starts and threw 430 innings before coming up this year at 22.
I don't think age should dictate when you are ready to pitch in the Major Leagues, but I'm quite certain great mechanics should.
Let's give Stephen Strasburg and every other young pitcher the tools necessary to last as long as Nolan Ryan or Greg Maddux - That way we can all enjoy them all for a very long time...
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Categories (click for archive)MASNblogs | Rob Dibble |
surprised you didnt bore me with pitch count in this entry.
I hope he will become a Tim Lincecum.
I appreciate the comments re developing pitchers. Can you tell us anything about the Nationals approach to coaching, i.e., do they have a organization-wide approach where McCatty and Eckstein would oversee or manage or influence coaching throughout the organizational levels?
Rob, thanks for the insight about Strasburg's potential development. Do you have any information re how the Nationals organize their coaching, for example, is it one consistent, top down approach directed from the major league club where McCatty and Eckstein are involved, or is it more or less up to each individual club (AAA, AA, etc.)?
Let's just keep the development questions simple.
No matter who the pitching prospect might be...Two words will cover the development plans.
POUND and DOWN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We saw during the first of the year, that several of our young arms were running from the hitters. They need to work ahead in the count and be willing to reach back and throw the ball. This has been a proven recipe for success. Just because these arms do not have several seasons of experience doesn't mean that they can not win.
As Dib's said today (Sunday)...The pitches just need to compete.
Go Nats!!! RR-Winchester, VA.
Speaking of pitching.
It's the bottom of the ninth. The score is tied. The best power hitter in baseball comes to the plate. If you are Jason Bergmann, there is a wide range of outcomes. You could strike him out, get him to pop up or hit a grounder. You could walk him. You could allow him to single or double. But the one thing you cannot do is throw him anything that he can hit for power. How about a lot of offspeed breaking pitches that either bounce on home plate or are too far inside or outside to hit with power.
So what does Bergmann do? He throws Albert a home-run pitch. He beats himself. Is Jason ready for the major leagues? Will he ever be?
I appreciate your inside views of pitchers, on and off the air(in blogs, on radio, etc.). One thing that has concerned me is all the injuries that the young pitchers have happening to them. Since most of them have played baseball since they were young, and alot of them have developed through the minor leagues to the majors, it just seems to me like there are alot of arm and shoulder injuries that are occurring, where surgery is needed, aka Jordan Zimmermann,Chad Cordero (who has never seemed to fully recover),and so on, that I would think would not happen, based on their years of playing baseball.
Is it the way the pitchers are throwing (form-wise,stance-wise),or the stress of pitching in a short rotation, or throwing too many innings? It has been suggested on the MLB Network "Hot Stove" show, that the pitchers, by their form of pitching, are putting too much stress on their arms, shoulders, and legs.
Your thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.
To add to my previous question, do you believe that starting young pitchers should have a third pitch in their skillset, before they are in the starting rotation?
And finally, do you think a split-finger fast ball will kill a young starter's arm faster than any other pitch?