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Evan Barnes's avatar

Excellent piece. I hate how the game has gone where a starter rarely goes 6 innings and bullpens are burned through. I loved the idea of learning that pitchers had to mix things up and use intelligence as much as speed to eat innings and get used to hitters 3 times. It needs to be fixed. Another example of how efficiency can be the enemy of competition.

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Jim Reeves's avatar

Love this, Whick. Really excellent. And the man was right, Nolan was super-human, but even he wasn't a great pitcher until he developed his curveball.

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James Madison's avatar

How were maddux and glavine and their 6 combined cy youngs and over 600 wins forgotten about? Can't remember either of them ever throwing above 92.

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Mark Whicker's avatar

They also threw twice between starts. The changeup is becoming a lost art.

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Steven Doyle's avatar

Nolan Ryan was the best pitcher of all time. I have no doubt about that. He should've won 400 games. And you'd think he gave max effort, given his dominance and strikeouts. But you also have to wonder how a man who threw like him could endure for so long. He should be studied alongside the analytics. Terrific piece (said the guy who threw out his arm at about age 14 -- such as it was).

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Barbara Shaidnagle's avatar

The worst colleague of Mac Effort is Dual Position, spefically some one like Ohtani. He had Tommy John surgery but goes out as a hitter anyway.Ridiculous. One position or the other but not both. I have not seen a spring training game yet where he pitched. He seems to hit ok.

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