In a forceful statement before Game 1 of the World Series, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark urged MLB teams to drastically alter how they utilize pitchers, warning that the current approach is “blowing out” pitchers and leading to a rash of injuries. His comments shine a harsh spotlight on pitcher usage in the modern game.
A Plea to Protect Pitchers
Speaking at Dodger Stadium, Clark didn’t mince words about the troubling trend of pitcher injuries in baseball. “The conversations that we’ve had with our players have suggested that unless or until you draw a line in the sand and force change, that the decision makers on any one particular team are going to continue to make the decisions that they’re making, which is have pitchers — starting and relievers — max-effort for the period of time that they can have them,” he said.
In Clark’s view, teams are pushing pitchers to the brink, then quickly discarding them when they break down. “As soon as they seem to run out of gas, as the data suggests that they’re going to, recycle them out and to burn out another pitcher.”
The Toll of High-Stress Pitching
The rise of max-effort pitching, with hurlers throwing harder than ever before, has coincided with an epidemic of pitcher injuries in the sport. Procedures like Tommy John surgery have become alarmingly common, with some pitchers undergoing the operation multiple times.
Players are doing what it is they are being told they should do. Clubs are telling players that [pitching deep into games] is not the value proposition anymore, and thus players are doing what it is that’s being requested of them.
Tony Clark, MLBPA Executive Director
According to Clark, this troubling development stems from a shift in team priorities. Whereas pitchers were once valued for their ability to pitch deep into games and deliver quality starts, now teams prioritize maximal effort over efficiency and longevity.
A Game in Crisis
The implications of this trend are dire for the sport. With more and more pitchers succumbing to injury, the quality of play suffers, and fans are robbed of the opportunity to watch the game’s best hurlers ply their craft over a sustained period.
Moreover, the human toll on pitchers themselves cannot be ignored. These athletes dedicate their lives to mastering an incredibly difficult skill, only to see their bodies break down prematurely under the strain of unrelenting maximal effort.
A Call for Fundamental Change
In Clark’s view, the onus falls on teams to alter their approach and place a higher premium on pitcher health and sustainability. “Until the decision-makers determine that blowing out pitchers day in and day out as a result of how they’re using them or what they’re requiring of them is no longer the best way to treat their players, we’ll see a change absent,” he said.
Developing starting pitching, having strong starting pitching — that historically has been the value proposition for 150 years — has been changed.
Tony Clark, MLBPA Executive Director
Whether MLB teams will heed Clark’s urgent plea remains to be seen. But for the sake of the sport’s future, and the health of the young men who take the mound every day, one hopes that a fundamental reevaluation of pitcher usage is on the horizon.
Baseball is a timeless game, but it has undergone radical changes in recent years, and not all of them for the better. Tony Clark’s forceful comments serve as a much-needed wake-up call that the status quo, when it comes to pitcher deployment, is simply unsustainable.
For the love of the game, and for the wellbeing of those who play it at the highest level, it’s time for a change. The future of MLB pitching hangs in the balance.
