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re: May be a stupid question, but how are old pitching stats so incredible?

Posted on 2/28/23 at 5:57 pm to
Posted by texn
Pronouns: Y'All/Y'All's
Member since Nov 2019
4054 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 5:57 pm to
quote:

crotch sweat,


From the makers of Booty Sweat?
Posted by DemonKA3268
Parts Unknown
Member since Oct 2015
21093 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 6:00 pm to
quote:

Same thing with NBA players now. These dudes can't play a full game or season, and no one is beating on them like in the 80s/90s. I wish Lebron could play against the 90s Pistons.


Yep, today’s players wouldn’t make a 1/4 of the season…
Posted by LSUBoo
Knoxville, TN
Member since Mar 2006
103443 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 6:13 pm to
Back then the regular season meant more too. Bigger divisions, no wild cards, no league championships even for a long time. Winning your league was extra important.
Posted by Ralph_Wiggum
Sugarland
Member since Jul 2005
10999 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 6:25 pm to
What's lost is that people like Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, and even Denny Mclain were freaks of nature and so many pitchers wrecked their arms and never amounted to anything. From Cy Young to Steve Carlton to Nolan Ryan you had pitchers like them who beat the odds.

If you study baseball history for every Walter Johnson there are 25 Mark Fidrych's who wrecked their arm and never amounted to much.
This post was edited on 2/28/23 at 6:33 pm
Posted by OhioLSUfan
Columbus, OH
Member since Oct 2007
1865 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 6:53 pm to
Pitching to contact, they weren’t trying to strikeout batters like todays pitchers. In addition home runs were less prevalent. Therefore the pitchers didn’t put 100% into every pitch. Less torque on the arm
Posted by beaverfever
Arkansas
Member since Jan 2008
35340 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 6:58 pm to
That’s an interesting thought. We assume there aren’t pitchers that could do similar things today but that’s not necessarily true. Hell you see it in the college playoffs when kids throw 250+ pitches in three days and seem to pick up steam as they go.

A lot of the barriers that we set are based on what “normal” arms can handle.
Posted by Porter Osborne Jr
Member since Sep 2012
43000 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 7:04 pm to
Wasn’t there something about pitching from the windup instead of the stretch all the time that benefited their arms too?
Posted by BenDover
Member since Jul 2010
5547 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:14 pm to
Incredible stats but pretty sure the pitchers mound was 55 1/2 ft from home plate back then. I know they changed it soon after to 60ft 6in and batting average league wide jumped like 40pts.
Posted by Gaggle
Member since Oct 2021
7286 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:31 pm to
Gibson '68 is insane. It would be still be top 3 all time even if you included the dead ball era. No one approaches him in the modern era
Posted by FightinTigersDammit
Louisiana North
Member since Mar 2006
45938 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:32 pm to
Then there were the Dizzy Deans, Smokey Joe Woods', and Frank Tananas who had to become junk ballers or change position after they hurt their arms.
Lesser mortals fell by the wayside while the exceptions put up legendary numbers.
Posted by Jake88
Member since Apr 2005
77702 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:41 pm to
quote:

Cool stats, so how were they able to throw so much more than guys today?
Satchel has WAY more innings than recorded officially
In the books I've read they just threw through the pain. Many if them couldn't move their arms until loosened and it caused them a great deal of pain, daily.

Also, there is a bit of selection here. You only hear of the ones who could do it, not the thousands who destroyed their arms after a couple of years.
Posted by FightinTigersDammit
Louisiana North
Member since Mar 2006
45938 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:44 pm to
When Barnstorming, Satch would only pitch 2-3 innings per game.
Then again, they often played two games a day.
Posted by Jake88
Member since Apr 2005
77702 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:49 pm to
quote:

Old Hoss Radbourn's 1884 stat line is my favorite
The book "Fifty-Nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had" was about this. He couldn't move his arm on off days.
Posted by LSUBoo
Knoxville, TN
Member since Mar 2006
103443 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 8:59 pm to
quote:

Incredible stats but pretty sure the pitchers mound was 55 1/2 ft from home plate back then. I know they changed it soon after to 60ft 6in and batting average league wide jumped like 40pts.


Also 1884 was the first year they allowed overhand pitches. Before that was more like current fast-pitch softball, which is much much easier on the joints.
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
33049 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 9:02 pm to
quote:

Also, there is a bit of selection here. You only hear of the ones who could do it, not the thousands who destroyed their arms after a couple of years.

Yea, I think through all the reasoning and discussing. This is the real truth, we know about the incredible guys because they were, well, incredible. Probably tons of average dudes who ruined their arms for life doing this for a few years and getting hurt
Posted by Rhino5
Atlanta
Member since Nov 2014
30773 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 9:35 pm to
They pitched daily instead of these retarded managers yanking a hot pitcher after 100 pitches.

I remember maddux going 9 innings all the time. Same with Randy Johnson.
Posted by Dire Wolf
bawcomville
Member since Sep 2008
39809 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 9:36 pm to
quote:

Old Hoss Radbourn's 1884 stat line is my favorite. 60-12, 75 games, 73 starts, 73 complete games, 2 finished, 1 SV, 678.2 IP, 1.38 ERA, .922 WHIP.


Glad he found time to get a save
Posted by Tiger1242
Member since Jul 2011
33049 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 9:39 pm to
I wonder how much shite he gave his teammate when he couldn’t finish the game and the guy with 73 complete games had to come in and close it out for him?
This post was edited on 2/28/23 at 9:39 pm
Posted by tiggerfan02 2021
HSV
Member since Jan 2021
3871 posts
Posted on 2/28/23 at 10:45 pm to
quote:

I wish Lebron could play against the 90s Pistons.




Or the mid/late-1980s Celtics or Lakers.
Posted by magildachunks
Member since Oct 2006
34849 posts
Posted on 3/1/23 at 12:53 am to
quote:

They pitched daily instead of these retarded managers yanking a hot pitcher after 100 pitches.



This here is the closest reason for an answer to your question.


Back then, the players barely got paid, so nobody worried about their overall health and longevity.

But now? Well, you will protect a multi-million dollar investment.

And that's what these pitcher's arms are. So you won't ever see them allowed to perform such feats stated in the OP.
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