My Thoughts About a 100-Pitch Count Minimum

The arm of a pitcher in Major League Baseball is like a weapon: they have to take good care of it. If they overwork their arm, in many cases, they'll opt to have Tommy John surgery. The timetable recovery from it takes between 12 to 24 months. Baseball fans haven't been gung-ho about many of the rules the league has implemented over the years, such as the pitch clock. Legendary pitchers such as Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux were known for going deep into games. Those kinds of pitchers were known as workhorses, pitching between seven and nine innings. Also, the aforementioned pitchers threw 100 pitches or more. In today's game, strict pitch counts are placed on pitchers. Many fans believe that this is a dying art. Recently, Max Scherzer proposed an idea that he would like to see as a requirement for all pitchers in the league: a 100-pitch count. He wants to see pitchers stay in games longer before being pulled out. The response online to the two-time World Series champion and future Hall of Famer's idea wasn't popular with fans, with a few stating that it'll never happen. If you've watched videos of Max's immaculate pitching performances from previous years, they're always a treat to watch. However, he's not the same pitcher he was years ago. Scherzer is currently in his 19th MLB season and if there is a next season and also whether or not he returns for another season, that season would be his 20th. If he wants to come back for another season and still feels good, all respect to him. If he wants to call it a career at the end of this season, I will respect his decision. The accolades may not matter to him or couldn't care less about being complimented, but his glowing resume shows that he's Hall of Fame worthy. I still regard him as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, despite the regression of his pitching performances.

What do I think about Max Scherzer's idea? While it sounds good on paper and I would like to see more pitchers go deeper into games, I don't see the league implementing this anytime soon. I do see his point, but realistically, a move like that isn't one size fits all. Every pitcher is different and not all of them have the ability to throw 100 pitches every start. That could put so much pressure on their arms. There are three exceptions of a pitcher throwing 100 pitches or more: If they're going to throw a no-hitter, perfect game, or complete game. As much as some people want this to happen, I don't see Rob Manfred implementing this rule anytime soon. Managers are very protective and considerate of their pitchers and their health. If this idea were to be implemented in the future by the next Commissioner of baseball, I would be in full support of it.

I pose this question to everyone: Would you like to see Major League Baseball require every pitcher to throw at least 100 pitches every start and also go deeper into games? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments section below. In the meantime, please give this story a like if you enjoyed it. Subscribe to my page and follow me on social media. Finally, to show me some love and support me even further, please leave a generous one-off tip, which is located at the end of this story. No matter how big or small of an amount you give, it encourages creators like me to keep writing new stories.