Quote:
Originally Posted by perez24
I recall there was also a lot more base stealing in the 70s and many, many throws over to first to keep runners like Brock, Leflore, and Morgan close. My hypothesis is that hitters, especially good hitters, went to the plate with the idea of swinging the bat, not drawing a 10 pitch walk. But I do not have any stats to base that on so I could just be remembering wrong.
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We don’t have pitch data that far back but walk rates were pretty much the same as they are now. The two biggest differences in the state between then and now are: way more Ks (Ks were actually down a bunch from the 60s so it’s a weird place to come from, kind of, but even in the mid 70s it was possible to be an ace of a staff and strikeout fewer than 100 batters in. 250+ innings) and significantly lower BABIP (.276 in 1971 and it’ll probably back up around .300 this year). Home run rates were also a little lower but not crazily so.
There may have been more throws to first than almost none but even watching random games from the early 70s as I sometimes do when I play through my dynasty, what’s most remarkable to me is that guys got in there and just played the game. No constant messing with batting gloves, no 30 seconds between pitches, just guys getting into the batters box and playing. Even without a pitch clock, players still played as though there was a need to keep the game moving. I am by no means a purist but I think that actually getting the game done with is a good thing and I’m happy to see this getting enforced with the pitch clock.