Mikayla Demaiter Applies For A Job On Baywatch, Emily Agard Hammers Her Drums & JJ Watt Is Shredded
100-pitch count
- Zach writes:
Where do you think the whole "100 pitch count" for starting pitchers originated? I've been watching baseball for over 35 years now, and I can only remember it being acknowledged sometime in the 2000's.
Kinsey:
There are reports Dr. James Andrews suggested, in 1999, that 100 pitches is when the arm typically tires at the MLB level. MLB officially started tracking pitch counts in 1988.
Let's never forget June 14, 1974 when 27-year old Nolan Ryan threw 13 innings, 235 pitches, struck out 19, walked 10 and got a no-decision. That season, Ryan pitched 332 innings and faced just shy of 1,400 batters.
Outside of knuckleballer Phil Niekro in the late 1970s, nobody has touched Ryan's batter's faced numbers since.
Dan Patrick raised a great point about starting pitching on Monday. Is it possible we're about to see starting pitchers go the way of running backs? You hire a bunch of low-cost guys who can throw hard for 3-4 innings, throw them out there, go to the bullpen and then pay the closer the big dollars to get the final outs.
Remember what we were saying about youth baseball and what I witnessed two weeks ago. The starting pitchers in a 13U game came out of the gates throwing everything they had against the wall. I'm talking full bore like Mitch Williams launching his body towards the plate.
In the video above, Dan tells the story of how a physical therapist, who works with MLB guys, told him that parents who wanted their son's to have Tommy John surgery at 13. The parents wanted the boys to have the surgery before they needed it.
Where are we headed with pitching?
Pitching salary cuts. Nine teams cut total salary heading into the 2024 season.
Revolving doors. And fans left trying to figure out who the new guy on the mound is.
Just like running backs in the NFL.
The State of Youth Sports
Just an observation from a game Screencaps the III played in last night where his team was up like 4-0 or 5-0 entering the bottom of the 3rd or 4th. Something like that. I lose track of these games.
It was 7:25. You're not allowed to start a new inning after 7:30.
Screencaps the III's coaches go over to the opposing coach to see if he's ready to shake hands since his team would need to get three outs in five minutes. Keep in mind, it takes like 5-7 minutes per batter at this level with nearly every single pitch going to the backstop.
The opposing coach says play on. He wanted his boys to get three outs in about four minutes because he spent one minute looking at his phone and doing the math on how fast his team would need to play.
His plan didn't work.
Meanwhile, on a back diamond, a travel team was blasting its practice Spotify playlist while getting in some swings for a tournament. On another field, a 1st and 2nd grade house softball mom had her massive speaker playing music during pregame.
Make me commissioner for a day and the speakers would be outlawed. Immediate ejection.
Kids had fun playing baseball for 125 years before some Stanley-succin' mama bear decided to bring her piece of junk Chinese-made speaker to the park so her son/daughter could walk up to the plate to Flo-rida.
Readers and hot food/hot sauce
- Jon has a theory on people like the guy I saw over the weekend at Buffalo Wild Wings eating 10 Carolina reaper wings in less than five minutes:
Just some people like the chemical effects on the brain, I don't know what the right word is but dopamine? I do Tabasco on my omelet and jalapeños on my pizza, and whoo! But you won't see me doing Carolina reapers or ghost peppers tho, that's done and filed away, had zero joy doing those.
Kinsey:
That's an excellent theory. Dopamine rushes like retirees hammering away at a slot machine with their retirement money, I guess.
- Jay writes:
Good Morning Joe,
I found this product in a gas station full of fireworks and beer. On one side of this location is a giant neon clown. On the other is a 20-foot tall Indian statue. Across the street from all this is a antique store with a pink elephant.
Welcome to Cross Plains, TN.
Georgia readers: Is this true?
Let's go to Florida for a moment of zen
The state of inflation: The post office
Did you know the price of stamps is going up to 73 cents on July 14?
Let this sink in for a minute.
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That's all for this Tuesday. Remember, we're in the official dog days of summer until they end on August 11. Send in new topics. Ask questions. Yell at me. Whatever.
Go have a great day and good luck hunkering down if you're in the path of Beryl remnants.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com