Maybe not, but if it were based on the number of pitches he's thrown
in the last three and a half years, it certainly would be. Here is
the leader board of pitchers with the most pitches thrown since the
beginning of 2003.
|
Pitcher |
Team |
Pitches |
|
Livan Hernandez
|
Was |
13,127 |
|
Barry Zito |
Oak |
12,843 |
|
Carlos Zambrano |
ChC |
12,117 |
|
Mark Buehrle |
CWS |
12,103 |
|
Jamie Moyer |
Sea |
11,638 |
|
Javier Vazquez |
CWS |
11,628 |
|
Freddy Garcia |
CWS |
11,507 |
|
John Lackey |
LAA |
11,438 |
|
Jason Schmidt |
SF |
11,330 |
|
Jon Garland |
CWS |
11,218 |
(thru games of June 19, 2006)
Interestingly, the World Champion White Sox have four pitchers on
the list. This is another example of the durability of the Sox
staff.
Now, for the question that hangs in the air. Does throwing this
many pitches really hurt a player's arm, or does it in fact build up
his arm? From a previous study that I did (see
Stat of the Week item
from 11/23/05), there is some evidence that it's actually
helpful later in the season to go beyond the 100-pitch mark in early
season outings. That's far from conclusive on the topic, but does
support my personal belief that pitchers are currently being babied
by their managers and that it would be more helpful in the long run
if pitchers were allowed to work longer, and throw more pitches, in
games that they pitch.
