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Originally Posted by dudeosu
I still don't see why the two are mutually exclusive, or why someone can't become good at all aspects. I think pitchers are bad since the way the game is played doesn't require them to be good.
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They're mutually exclusive because it's too hard. Do you really think that pitchers choose to hit like crap? Of course not. They just can't devote the time and effort necessary to become good hitters and good pitchers at the same time. If it was possible, someone in the past 25 or 30 years would have done it. But since 1980 the highest OPS for a pitcher (min 100 AB) is .679, and the average is .363.
Of course the game doesn't require them to be good hitters, because the compromise required for that to happen would be a serious decline in their pitching ability.
Players work out all the time, they hire personal trainers, personal nutritionists, they go to winter ball to hone their skills, they go to crazy offseason boot camps to stay in top shape, guys like Nolan Ryan would ride the bike for hours after a 120-pitch start, some of them take dangerous, illegal drugs to boost their performance... yet you argue that pitchers can't hit just because they they can get away with it? I find that notion ridiculous.
If there was a pitcher who could pitch 200 innings to a 3.50 and put up an .850 OPS he'd make $25M a year. The incentive is there - it's just an impossible goal.