Former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant had some great things to say about the current state of pitching in Major League Baseball in a recent story by The Eagle Tribune's Bill Burt.
""I look at all of these guys throwing 100 pitches," says a steaming Tiant. "What's the difference between 110 and 100? Nothing. If you go to the park thinking you're going to win the game, you don't worry about the amount of pitches. You do whatever it takes. If the bullpen comes in, they come in."
Adding fuel to his fire and cigar smoke, Tiant added this caveat.
"And I pitched 21 years of winter ball," says Tiant. "I didn't go to Mexico to rest and vacation. I went to pitch. The only way you get stronger is by throwing a lot. They have it all wrong."
Tiant says it starts in college and the minor leagues. "All I say is pitchers are pitching less but getting hurt more," says Tiant. "Do the math. You don't have to be a scientist to realize something is wrong."
"Pitching inside," says Tiant. "That drives me crazy, too. Pitchers today don't know how to pitch inside. It was my favorite thing to do. And I'm not talking about throwing at a guy's head. That's stupid. I mean near the chest."
(Thanks to Boston Dirt Dogs for the heads up...)
Posted by colrus at January 3, 2005 02:15 PM | TrackBack