I came of age years after Yaz won the triple crown with a .301 batting average in 1968. Even after the changes you mentioned, bullpens were a secondary consideration for most teams except the Yankees.
Most teams had an ace, a solid number 2, a lefty, and depending on the team, one or two more starters with varying degrees of ability.
So, in 1975, Burt Hooten had a dozen complete games even though he had a paltry .125 batting average. These days, managers will pull a pitcher out a no-hitter if the pitch count is over 100.
“These days, managers will pull a pitcher out a no-hitter if the pitch count is over 100.”
They do that for longevity. A person’s arm is not designed to pitch a baseball. Tack that on to the pitchers throwing harder than before it is a formula for destruction of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in the elbow and the shutting down of a pitcher for tommy john. This harms the team investment and takes possibly a career from the player. Fortunately most pitchers return to competitive pitching, approximately 85% to 92%, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. However, the recovery timeline is long, generally taking 12 to 18 months for full competitive throwing. That puts a lot of water under the bridge and causes changes in the rosters many teams are not prepared for. So pitch count becomes that decision maker. And even the hard throwers of the past that lasted for a few years were few.
But some pitchers like Nolan Ryan (27 seasons), Tommy John (26 seasons), and Jamie Moyer (25 seasons), and Clayton Kershaw who retired last year are on that list. Among modern active pitchers like Clayton Kershaw (18 seasons) are among the few that actually made an impact while lasting a long time. Probably the last one is Justin Verlander who is still active but is retiring this year, already announced, and doesn’t go every 4 days with his injuries. And that list doesn’t contain any triple digit throwers except Ryan who was dedicated to a massive physical training program. And he went down throwing a pitch where his ligament snapped.
“Back in the day,” MLB rosters could contain as many as 12 pitchers. Now it’s 13 with 14 when the rosters increase. So utilizing their arms is still at the same level of need as before but the pitchers are all ticking time bombs with the performance they are expected to accomplish. And with the new three batter rule, it changes the dynamics of the game.
wy69