The lament of "today's pitcher" has been a popular subject for years now. Older sportswriters and ballplayers have been complaining that "pitchers today just aren't what they used to be" for almost as long as baseball's been around. In the 1940s, "today's pitchers" weren't as good as Christy Mathewson. In the 1960s, they weren't as good as Warren Spahn. In the '80s, it was Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. The cycle will never stop.
I bring this up because of an article I found the other day in an older "Baseball Digest". The article was written by Tom Verducci in the August 1992 issue of the magazine, and it was called "Major League Pitching 'Aint What It Used to Be.'". With quotes from Don Zimmer, Lou Piniella, Jim Kaat, and other men from a different generation, the piece says exactly what you'd expect it to say. The reasons for the demise in pitching are explored a bit: relief pitching, the five-man rotation, injuries, a shrinking strike zone. Again, no real surprises.
Well, except one. Remember, this piece is from 1992. Here's the full excerpt:
Nintendo
What's that have to do with baseball? One of the most common complaints among the doomsayers of pitching is that kids don't throw enough growing up. They are not building proper arm strength."There are more and more things for kids to do," Stottlemyre said. "I grew up like a lot of kids, playing baseball almost every day. You drive through a neighborhood now and you don't see it. They still play in the organized leagues, but not outside of that. They're playing Nintendo, or basketball or skateboarding, whatever."
"That's why it's a special treat to go to the Dominican Republic," McIlvaine said, "and drive around the country and see kids with broomsticks and balls and bats. Everybody's playing baseball. It's what American probably was like in the '30s and '40s."
I love the "probably" at the end there.
I don't have much to add. I just really wanted to highlight the "Nintendo theory" that Verducci mentioned (and, again, that excerpt includes the entire "Nintendo" section from the article). It seems like a stretch to me… but, then again, most of these reasons are the same way. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised then. If only the internet had been around back then to have dubbed this the "Verducci Nintendo Effect." It has a nice ring to it.
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now
There are plenty of practice hours devoted to baseball in America in 2011, but these hours are concentrated among a smaller percentage of the population. More and more kids find other things to do. Mock the Nintendo quote all you want, but this is a reality.
The same excuses could have been used every generation... in the 1950s, a stodgy sportswriter could've called it the "television effect", in the 1960s the "Beatles effect", in the 1970s the "hippie effect" or something equally silly...
The point is legitimate, but calling it the "Nintendo effect" is lazy and reeks of "kids these days"-justification...
I think Verducci used that as a literary gimmick/joke and seriously doubt that he believes reducing Nintendo imports will bring old-school baseball back. I think you're really trying to stretch your argument by using that line...
I have my own beefs with Verducci at times, but I think his overall point is legitimate... American kids don't grow up playing baseball all the time the way they used to.
Pitchers can't go 300 IP a season any more because the human body can't endure 300 IP of what's required to perform at the modern level. That's not the pitchers' fault; and it says more about the relative inadequacy of yesteryear's heroes than today's.
It's also worth pointing out they psychological point that every generation views the world as "in crisis" in ways that previous generations were not.
I've always blamed video games (with zero actual evidence).
Just kidding. I have 2 sons. The 13 yaer old got turned off to team sports at about 8 by the ultracompetitivenes, but talks about starting track. My 10 year old loves to shoot hoops, but won't actually play. Video games are a factor with the older one, but not at all with the younger one.
I have to say, though, I have no idea why the focus would be on pitchers instead of players in general. While I don't have a citation, it seems that it's been proven that kids who throw more are more likely to get injured when they are older so one could argue that this effect is a good thing for pitchers if in fact it does exist.