Talk:Pitch count

Exploding at 100 pitches?

While I'm sure the general consensus is that pitchers fall off at around 100 pitches, I think it is important to note that many pitchers have thrown more than 100 pitches in games with little to no consequence from it, and this is from recent memory:

• October 21, 1993: In game 5 of the 1993 World Series, Curt Schilling pitched a 2-0 complete game shutout against a powerful Toronto Blue Jays offense in Philadelphia. Schilling threw 148 pitches.

• September 3, 2001: Bud Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in San Diego, leading the Cardinals to a 4-0 victory. Smith threw 134 pitches.

• April 23, 2005: Mark Mulder of the St. Louis Cardinals threw a 10-inning complete game shutout against the Houston Astros in St. Louis, a game the Cardinals won 1-0. Mulder needed 101 pitches for the game.

• April 26, 2006: Dave Bush of the Milwaukee Brewers threw a complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds, with Milwaukee winning the game 11-0. Bush threw 115 pitches.

So I think it is moot to try and back up popular belief that a pitcher breaks down after throwing 100 pitches just because Don Larsen's perfect game was thrown with less than 100 pitches being needed. Darwin's Bulldog 02:08, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Pitch Count

I know it's been a while since the poster above me posted but I'm pretty sure Major League teams have at their disposal reams of data that shows that pitchers in general become less effective after a certain number of pitches, and data for individual pitchers indicating their fall off point.

Anyway, I added pitching style and type of pitch to reasons why a pitcher may be allowed to throw more pitchers than other guys on the staff. When you have a pitcher whose style is really about control and placement and change of speeds with a really slow changeup, it's thought that they can be a bit more effective than a power pitcher at high pitch counts. The same is also true of 'gimmick' pitchers, like knuckleballers, whose success is in the soundness of their technique that day (which can vary greatly from start to start) and not so much how tired they happen to be.

24.44.135.148 (talk) 22:41, 2 June 2008 (UTC) tilde tilde tilde tilde

Nolan Ryan throwing 259 pitches in a game

I removed the example of Nolan Ryan throwing 259 pitches against Kansas City in 1974. Pitch counts were not counted back then so it's based on anecdotal claims. The problem is that, according to the Baseball Reference database, there is no record of the Angels (then Ryan's team) having played any 12 inning games against Kansas City that season. The game is sometimes given as having being played on May 1, but the Angels played Boston that day (and Ryan did not pitch). Ryan did start on September 11 on that season in a 10 inning victory over the Royals, but it is also questionable whether 10 innings would be enough in most cases for a 259 pitch game. Due to inconsistencies and a lack of verifiability, I feel it's best to remove this example. Kansan (talk) 02:58, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Article needs

Little League has very strict pitch counts due to the age of the participants. And last year (2010), the Detroit Tigers used Jose Valverde too long in a game at Fenway against the BoSox, and they lost the next day's game because they could not use him in relief. Any citeable information regarding these limits would be extremely helpful for the article. MMetro (talk) 01:40, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Historical data

How far back do the data go? In the 1960s, it was common to see an off-duty pitcher recording every pitch. Do those records still exist? Beginning with the first game that was filmed in toto, one could go back and count the pitches, but locating the films would be almost as arduous as reviewing them. Has SABRE attempted anything of this kind? Dynzmoar (talk) 01:07, 22 June 2012 (UTC)