Buchholz & Joba Can Work More
Some of the Greatest Pitchers Were Regular Starters at Age 22.
Both Clay Buchholz and Joba Chamberlain are 22 years old. The number of innings each works in 2008 will be limited. Putting a cap on a young pitcher's workload is a recent phenomenon and one which affects all baseball teams. It is a precaution that is unnecessary. Some of the greatest pitchers of all time were regular starters when they were 22 years old or less.
Gooden Pitched 276 2/3 Innings When He Was Only 20 Years Old
Dwight Gooden could have become the greatest pitcher of all time. In his rookie season of 1984, at the age of 19, Gooden started 31 games and completed only 7 because he was being carefully monitored, yet he pitched 218 innings. In his sophomore year, the 20-year-old Gooden started 35 games, completed 16, half of which were shutouts, and pitched 276 2/3 innings. There is no reason to believe that Gooden's career was negatively affected by the amount of work when he was a youngster. Cocaine use, not over use, caused Gooden's downfall.
Seaver Pitched at Least 200 Innings for 13 Consecutive Seasons
Before Gooden, the Mets had another great pitcher who, in his rookie year at the age of 22, started 34 games, completed 18, and pitched 251 innings. Tom Seaver was the 1967 National League Rookie of the Year and was selected for the all-star team. Seaver went on to pitch over 200 innings for 13 consecutive seasons.
Maddux, Clemens, Blyleven, Katt, and Mussina
At the age of 22, Greg Maddux was already in his third season with the Cubs, although it was only his second full season. He pitched 249 innings in 1988, winning 18 games while making 34 starts. Roger Clemens, who has had one of the longest pitching careers in history, pitched 254 innings when he was 23 years old. Bert Blyleven pitched 278 1/3 innings when he was 20 and by the age of 22, he worked a now amazing 325 innings and made 40 starts. Jim Kaat pitched 200 2/3 innings when he was 22 and worked 269 innings the next season. At the age of 23, Mike Mussina pitched 241 innings. There are many others.
Pitch Every Fourth or Fifth Day
Of course, the above selected sample is composed of great pitchers, but the point is that none suffered from arm problems that could be directly attributed to over use, because they were not over used. Only Gooden had arm problems, and they were caused by his other problems. A 22-year-old individual is capable of pitching every fourth or fifth day and working over 200 innings.
Two Future Greats
Clay Buchholz and Joba Chamberlain are projected as future greats. Buchholz has already pitched a no-hitter, while Chamberlain had an auspicious if brief 2007 major league season in which he struck out 34 batters and allowed only 12 hits in 24 innings. Both Buchholz and Chamberlain are hard throwers, but Gooden, Seaver, and Clemens were just as fast, if not faster. If they have proper mechanics, young pitchers do not have to be babied along. They must be closely monitored, but that doesn't mean that if they have reached 100 pitches after pitching six shut out innings, they should be taken out of the game. Nor does it mean that if they have worked 199 innings by September 1, their season should end. But realistically, in 2008, that is exactly what it means.
Humans Are Mature When Their Teenage Years End
Humans reach physical maturity by the end of their teenage years, after which puberty ceases and little growth occurs. While this varies for each individual, most are fully developed by the age of twenty. There is no doubt that there is a great chance of physical injury when a pitcher who is not physically mature does not have a pitch count or innings pitched limit, but this refers to high school and college pitchers under the age of twenty one. Such cautionary procedures are rarely needed with 22-year-old pitchers.
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