Randy Johnson explains the decline of pitchers
When a fan asked about the state of starting pitcher’s roles in the modern game during the announcement of the 20th anniversary Diamondbacks team, franchise great Randy Johnson did not hold back.
He was adamant that pitchers today are not given enough leash by their managers to get themselves out of tough situations but acknowledged that “a lot of it is out of their control.” Managers pull the ball out of their hands after just five or six innings and are quick to turn to the bullpen to help carry the team to 27 outs.
In 2017, starting pitchers averaged 5.5 innings per outing, the lowest number in history. In part, Johnson said, the shift was driven by how heavily clubs rely on analytics to make their decisions.
“If they are only pitching five or six innings and something gets a little tough, they’re allowing the bullpen to come in and clean up their mess,” Johnson said. “That’s where I learned how to pitch. I didn’t learn how to pitch by watching the bullpen come in for me after five or six innings and cleaning up my mess … that’s just my opinion.”
However, as Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told The Athletic, starting pitchers are simply too valuable to be wasting on long outings.
“With four full-season affiliates and huge signing bonuses and guaranteed contracts, no one is able to take that risk with their pitchers. Nor should they,” he said.
The mentality, Hoyer said, has also changed from the era when complete games were regular occurrences.
“The game was simply different. When you were pitching a complete game, you might be throwing 100 pitches, 105 pitches,” he said. “Guys swung at the first pitch, guys hit the ball on the ground, they sacrifice bunted a lot.”
Johnson did not play in an era when complete games were expected necessarily, but he did rack up 100 of those showings in his 22-season career. For comparison, the expected pitchers coming out of the All-Star break for the Diamondbacks (Robbie Ray, Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Zack Godley) have combined for 21 complete games in 30 seasons.
The drop-off has created new roles for relievers, for which T.J. McFarland is appreciative.
This season, McFarland has provided that bridge to the closers on multiple occasions, logging over four innings of work in four separate outings. His consistent play is a big reason the Diamondbacks have the thirdbest ERA (2.85) in the league from their relief pitchers.
“In terms of my role, I don’t want a starter to only go four or five innings, but that’s why I’m here, to be able to bridge that gap,” he said. “When you look at good teams that are in first place and going to the playoffs, there’s three or four guys in the bullpen that are shutdown guys. So starters don’t necessarily need to go that long.”