Fewer pitchers to throw 100 pitches in a game?

A few days ago, I read a book, which was very interesting. In the book, the author indicated that a pitcher was pulled in a postseason game and he just threw fewer than 80 pitches. He mentioned some changes in baseball. While reading the book, I think about pitcher usage in today’s baseball games.

In particular, is it getting rare to see a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game? To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the statcast website.

In 2008, there were more than 2000 times that a pitcher threw at least 100 pitches in a game. Tim Lincecum was the 2008 NL Cy Young award winner and in 2008, there were 2 times that he threw more than 130 pitches in a game. The next year, it was more often to see a pitcher throw at least 100 pitches in a game. In 2009, there were more than 2100 times seeing a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game.

In 2010, seeing a pitcher throw 100 pitches was not rare. That season, there were more than 2400 times that a pitcher threw at least 100 pitches in a game. Edwin Jackson used to toss a no-hitter in 2010 and in that game, he used 149 pitches. Jackson struck out 6 batters, but he gave up 8 walks as well. Moreover, in 2011, there were more than 2300 times to see a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game. In 2012, the number dropped. However, there were still at least 2000 times to see a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game. In 2013 and 2014, there were 2100+ times that we could see a pitcher throw at least 100 pitches in a game each year. However, things began to change in 2015. This year, there were fewer than 2000 times that a pitcher threw at least 100 pitches in a game. Mike Fiers and Clayton Kershaw were the only 2 pitchers who threw 130+ pitches in a game in 2015. Furthermore, the number kept going down in 2016. This season, there was only 1 pitcher who threw 130+ pitches in a game. In addition, there were 1500+ times that a pitcher threw at least 100 pitches in a game in 2017, but no pitcher threw at least 130 pitches in a game. Nonetheless, the number dropped to 1226 in 2018 and the next year, the number decreased to below 1200. Well, the 2020 season was a shortened one. But now, let’s look back at the last 2 seasons, in 2021, there were fewer than 700 times that we saw a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game. And, last year, the number went up just a little bit.  10 years ago, it was common for MLB teams to let a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game. However, pitcher usage among 30 MLB teams has changed. In each of the last 2 seasons, there were fewer than 1000 times that we saw a pitcher throw 100+ pitches in a game. The 2023 season has begun and it will be very interesting to see whether the number will go up or go down. By far this season, there are 11 times that a pitcher threw at least 100 pitches in a game.