Sadly, before I went to sleep last night, I didn't take a look at the box scores around the league close enough, and I missed another historic night in Major League Baseball. So instead, when I woke up is when I found out that Matt Cain had pitched a perfect game in San Francisco against the Houston Astros.
Pitching a perfect game is a historic achievement no matter when and where it happens, but Cain's last night included 14 strikeouts, which was the highest number of strikeouts in a perfect game since Sandy Koufax in 1965. And when it comes to pitching, any time your name is mentioned in the same breath as Sandy Koufax, it means you did something extra special. I heard talk about Cain's outing being possibly the best game ever pitched for that reason, but my response to that is an absolute no, it was not the best game ever pitched. It wasn't actually close in my opinion. However, this morning I was still disappointed that I missed the game, but I also realized that the way things are going this season, I could get another chance to see one, maybe even as soon as today.
We haven't even reached the All-Star Game yet, and we have already seen two perfect games, as well as three no-hitters. Perfect games are obviously no-hitters as well, so technically it has been five no-hitters, but to keep it simple I'll separate them. Last year, we saw three no-hitters, and the year before that we saw two perfect games, as well as four no-hitters (one of which was in the postseason).
Since the start of the 2000 season, we have seen six perfect games thrown. That is one every two years. From the year 1880 until 2000, we saw 16 perfect games. That is one every 7.5 years. That's a pretty big difference. So is this just a fluke? Or is it a sign that pitching rules the baseball world? In my opinion, the evidence is beginning to clearly point to the latter.
The first piece of evidence to prove this point is probably the crack down on the use of performance enhancing drugs. While I firmly believe that records set by players that have failed drug tests should stand (because if Major League Baseball wasn't testing for these things when they were being used, they should not be able to save face by going back and retroactively changing the record books), it is starting to look more and more like the drugs did change the game quite a bit. 50 home runs is now a rarity, and we are unlikely to see anyone approach 60 or 70 for a long time. The single season and all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds (who has never failed a drug test by the way) probably can feel good about his records standing, no matter what some fans and Hall of Fame voters might say. It has been proven that pitchers were indeed using performance enhancers as well though, so I don't think more stringent testing policies are the only reason we are seeing such good pitching.
The next reason for the return of dominant pitching, as much as I hate to admit it, has to have something to do with pitch counts. Such a big deal is made now by managers and coaches about pitch counts. From the big leagues all the way down to Little League, it sometimes seems like pitch counts are more important than even getting hitters out. What seems like babying pitchers must actually be having a positive effect on their arms. The days of pitchers like Walter Johnson or Cy Young just throwing complete games every time they pitch are gone. There is a reason that Cy Young leads all pitchers in the history of baseball in both wins and losses. When you are out there just pitching games from start to finish, there isn't even a chance to get a no-decision. Starting pitchers today throw multiple games each year in which they get neither a win nor a loss. The all-time leader in complete game shutouts in Walter Johnson, with 110. The active leader in complete game shutouts? Roy Halladay with 20. That puts him in a tie for 243rd all-time in that category. Halladay is also the active leader in complete games with 66. Cy Young is the all-time leader in complete games with 749. 749! That is more than 11 times as many as Halladay. These days, it seems like every pitcher is on a pitch count, and maybe this thinking has also played a part in the recent trend of great pitching.
Finally, what I think is probably the biggest reason we have seen such an upswing in pitching numbers is simply talent (even though I hate that word). Cy Young didn't have a repertoire of pitches that included a cut-fastball, a slider, a two-seam fastball, and a splitter. Guys now are able to throw such a variety of pitches, that it has to make hitting much harder. In any given game, a hitter might get two at bats against a pitcher with a four or five pitch mix, then see a submarine style pitcher out of the bullpen throwing frisbees up to the plate, followed by a closer throwing 98 mph. It has come to the point that starting pitchers can't get by with less than three above-average pitches. Most starters have even more than that, and it has to keep hitters off balance. Then, in any given game it seems that all 30 teams have at least one guy coming out of the bullpen throwing 95 mph. Guys you've never even heard of are just coming into games, facing three hitters, and getting them out by blowing two fastballs by them, and then changing pace with a curveball that is about 20 mph slower than their fastball. A lot of hitters have no chance to hit a guy like that if he is locating his pitches well.
So while there is no concrete answer as to why we have seen such a rise in great pitching over the last few seasons, there are definitely multiple things that might be combining to bring this about. One thing that is for sure though, is that saying about always having a chance to see something historic at a baseball game on any given day seems more and more applicable as each day goes by. Who knows, by this time tomorrow, Matt Cain's perfect game may not even be the most recent one. There are still seven games that have yet to begin today, so that is seven more chances to see history repeat itself.
Daily Rangers Update: The Kings beat the Devils to win the Stanley Cup last week. The fact that it didn't include the Rangers was a huge disappointment. All we can do is count down until the start of next season, so there won't be any more daily updates unless something big happens.
Daily Giants Update: Everyone is at training camp and seemingly happy (which is not the case for many teams). Now we just need to figure out how to fill some of the holes we need to be filled. A #2 running back, as well as a re-tooled linebacking corps and secondary are probably at the top of the list. There is still plenty of time until Week 1 against Dallas, and then the quest to repeat officially begins.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: After a fun series sweep of Oakland that included all kinds of crazy games, it has been tougher against the two-time American League defending champion Rangers. Wade Miley was excellent again last night, and he is making a case for an All-Star selection, but we couldn't get him any run support so it turned into a 1-0 loss. Daniel Hudson goes tonight against Scott Feldman, and hopefully we can avoid being swept by a very good team. It's off to Anaheim next to face another very good team, so two wins in the next four games would be a positive.
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