Pitch count

[citation needed] "Of all the poisonous trends to seep into the game over the past three decades few have done more damage to pitchers than the obsession over pitch counts."

Advocates who are against using the pitch count as a metric to measure pitcher performance include Minnesota Twins broadcaster/Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven; Hall of Famer, former Texas Rangers CEO/President, and current Houston Astros executive adviser Nolan Ryan; the late New York Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver; and former Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon.

Ryan's sentiments are similar to McKeon's, declaring that pitch counts are largely frivolous.

[9] Rany Jazayerli estimates that two thirds of young starting pitchers from 1999 on are still playing five years later, compared to one of two between 1984 and 1998, and attributes the improvement to greater emphasis on the pitch count.

[12] However, author Peter Morris noted that "a lot more guys hit 10 homers a season these days", and pitchers need to throw their best stuff more often.

"[13] Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley said hitters are "bigger, stronger, better, and they hit better.

"[14] Hitters have also become more selective (making pitchers throw more strikes) to increase their pitch count to get them out of the game earlier.

[15] Television networks and stations only displayed pitch counts occasionally, with the Boston Red Sox's NESN and New York Yankees's YES being the first to do so within their full on-screen graphics at all times in 2010.

[17] Stats LLC began tracking pitch counts in 1988, and MLB keeps official data since 1999.