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Originally Posted by struggles_mightily
And what are the data sets for the 4MR vs. 5MR studies? Does this involve comparing historical data w/ that from the present day? Isn't there a problem there with isolating the relevant variable? And if we're talking about occurrences within modern data, then it's harder to recreate the effects of long-term usage of the 4MR.
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I've wondered about the MR thing, also. Has anyone done the research to find if relievers today pitch more innings per season than they used to? If starters aren't going as long, that would seem to indicate that they must, but the emphasis seems to be on the greater number of appearances today. Would more, but shorter, appearances result in more wear and tear than fewer, longer appearances?
The actual number of innings pitched per game for starters has only gone down by one or one and a third innings since 1957. During that time the pitching staff has gone from (someone please help me out here, because I'm guessing) ten to thirteen, and from five and a half relievers to eight. That would make me guess that the innings pitched per reliever per season must be down by about the same proportion that it is for starters. Really, modern day relievers would hardly seem to be overworked.