Quote:
Originally Posted by Syd Thrift
In the 50s in particular there wasn't a lot of stealing bases so pitchers often didn't just throw from a full windup, they threw from big windmilly windups which often look comically exaggerated compared to the windups of today. IIRC this has not been shown to increase velocity but I'd be very surprised if using your shoulders and legs this much to generate your delivery doesn't reduce the strain on one's arms.
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Three pitchers I can think of off the top of my head, although they did not pitch until after the 1950s, come to mind when one talks about using legs to drive the ball. Maybe you've heard of them: Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Mickey Lolich. If you take a look at how many innings they pitched year after year without developing any serious arm trouble should answer the question about the benefits of driving with the legs as opposed to standing upright and using the arm and shoulder. Why pitching coaches teach the "tall and fall" technique rather than the "drop and drive" is beyond me.
Also keep in mind that pitchers from a generation ago and earlier pitched to contact. Knowing they were expected to finish what they started, they tried to get batters out with the fewest amount of pitches and that meant forgetting about strikeouts (if you throw your best pitch with two strikes and the guy misses-great, if he grounds out it's just as well) and forced the batters to put the ball in play. Greg Maddux is the best example of a modern pitcher who pitched to contact.
As for the debate between the four man and five man rotation, it's all about how the pitchers are conditioned. MLB teams used four man rotations for decades. Pitchers were conditioned from rookie ball to the majors to pitch every fourth day. If you train your pitchers properly to pitch every fourth day, teach them to use their legs instead of just their arms, and get them in the habit of pitching to contact so they can get outs early in the count, 40 starts per year as opposed to 32 or 33 won't be an undue strain on their arms. It also saves the manager the burden of putting a replacement level pitcher on the mound every fifth game to get hammered and in the showers by the sixth inning.