After the new addition of the pitch clock, the idea of a six-inning minimum for starting pitchers began to circulate. Here is my take on why this is the worst thing that could happen to baseball.
As someone who watches every San Diego Padres game, you could say I’m well-versed in our pitching staff, our rotation, and how well the guys pitch. When I saw that someone had the bright idea to have pitchers go six innings, I lost it. In no way are they going to make my rotation go six innings, especially after the rotations teams have at the beginning of the season.
To show why this is a horrible idea, I’m going to use the Padres rotation from early July 2024. The rotation went: Adam Mazur, Micheal King, Matt Waldron, Dylan Cease, and Randy Vasquez. At this point, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish were on the Injury List (IL) and Martin Perez hadn’t been traded yet.
King and Cease are still part of the rotation, Waldron however was sent down to the Minors nearly a month ago after the reinstatement of Musgrove from the IL. On the other hand, Mazur has since been traded to the Miami Marlins, and Randy Vaquez has been sent down to the minor leagues. There is a reason for that.
These pitchers were buffers for the REAL starters in the rotation. These buffer days would be an extra day the starters got off to rest their arms and the team would utilize the bullpen about every two innings.
Vazquez was a rough pitcher to watch because he had almost no control or command of the pitches he threw. Before getting sent back to the minors, he had four wins and seven losses with a 5.18 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.
Mazur, however, had issues all over the place. I don’t know if it was a phase he went through after getting called up but he was sent back down to the minors twice and ended his Padres career with one win and three losses with an ERA of 7.49 and a WHIP of 1.81.
Looking at the games they pitched in, had they stayed in for six innings, the team would have lost TREMENDOUSLY! The six-inning minimum would mean that teams forfeit the game early on and leave a huge gap the offense has to make up.
This isn’t the only issue the minimum presents. For pitchers returning from the IL, asking them to go six innings is a stretch. Take Musgrove or Darvish, who returned from arm-related injuries. Musgrove came back off the IL and pitched 4.1 innings whereas Darvish pitched 2.2 innings. Had these right-handers pitched any longer, it would have cost the team the game and may lead them back on the IL.
While there are some instances when a starter wouldn’t have to go all six innings, they aren’t enough to change my mind. If the pitcher throws 100 pitches, he could leave the game. Here’s why this is an issue: a good enough pitcher could take that hundred, add an extra 15, and go for the no-hitter like Cease did. A pitcher who isn’t as well-rounded may hit 100 pitches by the fourth inning and leave their team with a big gap to make up. This is a huge issue, especially for the teams who have a rough enough time getting on base as is.
If the pitcher gives up four or more earned runs, then he may be able to leave the game early but, again, it comes as a heavy burden for the offense. Let’s say the Padres give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-0 lead, it’s hard to come back against them especially if they have one of their best pitchers up. This could be a heavy loss on the team; could keep them out of postseason contention, or worse, be the reason the team gets cut early.
The only reasonable excuse the six-inning minimum case makes for a pitcher to leave early is if he gets injured.
Every pitcher looks to go for at least five innings, that’s the line they need to cross to be factored for the win or loss. Adding an extra inning shouldn’t be hard but the inactive pitchers making their way back or pitchers who aren’t groomed for six innings, should be considered when enacting this new rule.