Dr. Giganto

Sports Moderator

Here's a fun stat:

Have you ever heard people make a fuss about pitch counts these days? You might hear someone on tv or sports radio say "Bob Gibson was never on a pitch count! He once threw 3 thousand pitches in one game,then came back in relief the next day", or some shit like that. Well, there is very limited pitch count data available from Gibson's time, but there is pitch count data available for about 21 of his games.

In those 21 games, his average number of pitches thrown was 102. 4 times he was pulled before reaching the 100-pitch mark and he threw a complete game with only 79 pitches. He threw less than 110 pitches 11 out of 21 times, and 120 or less pitches 18 out of 21 times.

Now, it's possible that the only games they have pitch count data for are the times when he didnt throw a lot of pitches, but I think it's more likely that his pitch-count prowess was exaggerated.

Now, let's look at Mark Prior's 2003 and 2004 seasons. He made a combined 47 starts, and threw an average of 111 pitches. He only threw less than 100 pitches 9 times. He threw over 120 pitches 11 times, including a six-start stretch where he threw 131, 129, 109, 124, 131, and 133 pitches.

And where is Mark Prior today?

So, next time somebody tells you that pitch counts are overrated, tell them to go fuck themselves