MLB may have another problem on its hands.
There are too many position players pitching in MLB these days, which is odd, to say the least, when the league finally made it possible to eliminate pitchers hitting almost completely.
This stems from the fact managers want to preserve the health of their bullpen arms, and when games become blowouts, they prefer to send position players to complete the remaining innings rather than “burning” a valuable reliever in a meaningless game.
The reasoning behind the frequent use of position players to pitch makes sense, but many fans are starting to complain, and so are writers and analysts.
“We’re gonna need to start filtering out stats against position player pitchers,” CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa tweeted.
We're gonna need to start filtering out stats against position player pitchers.
— Mike Axisa (@mikeaxisa) July 7, 2022
It Was Better When It Didn’t Happen Every Day
Axisa had stated in days past that “position players pitching was way more fun when it didn’t happen every single day,” and he may be right.
He then followed with some data: “eight position players have pitched since Monday. Eight position players pitched in 2011.”
Every once in a while wouldn’t be a problem, but when it happens as frequently as it’s currently happening, fans may get bored.
They stand there and throw 50-mph pitches that barely make it to home plate, and some unheralded players are feasting on these pitches.
Perhaps the league should approve more roster spots for pitchers: that way, they could try out some minor league arms and teams could have a competent hurler (who has been trained to pitch his entire life) take care of those “mop-up” innings.
It could be one solution, but the situation has turned from a funny anecdote to a recurring issue in the 2022 season.
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