Originally Posted by gehrig38
This is in no way a disparaging post to yours, but my comments and opinions on what you posted, and how this game creates and matures pitchers.
This is not true honestly. Few pitchers on the planet have what you'd call '3 pitches'. In the big leagues, let's use a 10 scale, most big league starters have 2 8-10's and 1 2-7 pitch, maybe 2 2-7 pitches. Justin Verlander? 10 FB, 10 CB 8-10 Change, but that's him.
Me? I would tell you I had an 8-10 FB, 10 split, 4-5 CB, 2-4 Slider. On my best days my curve was a 6-7, my slider a 4, at best. I pitched 3000 innings with 2 pitches, and remember I had what was likely the straightest FB in the big leagues. My command was 10, 'movement' would have been, 1 FB 10 Split, likely a 5? I threw 95-99 when I was in my prime (97-2003).
Maddux? He had a 8-9 FB, 10 Change, and cutter 8-9? He threw 88-92 tops.
The hard part with this game is that in the big leagues my fastball was 3-5 pitches, in up, in down, in belt, down and away, up and away, up middle some nights.
For me guys are pegged starters and relievers in the draft on 2 main things, body, and effort. It's next to impossible to load 200+ innings seasons on a power arm, with a 6' kid. Because more times than not the power that kid generates is max effort, whereas once I learned how to pitch, I was a 93-95 guy throwing 85%, dialing up to 98-99 at 99% when I needed the punchout.
What made both Petey and Maddux so special was their ability to pitch, at max effectiveness, at 85%. Watch anyone with obscene command, how they finish their delivery, they're in control, and in great position to defend, at release.
The guys like Kyle Farnsworth, the entire cards pen? Those guys are relievers, whether they want to be or not, because you can't do that 100+ times a night and get 30+ starts out of your body.
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