Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornfed
Makes sense. You'd want to weed out guys who couldn't cut it as starters. I know I always run 6 man rotations on my Single A teams to do basically that.
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Interesting part of the article.
"In 1883 the three-man entered the NL as an option for second division teams with untested pitching prospects, and to this day, out-of-contention clubs will often add a pitcher to their rotations at the end of the season. In 2010, both Baltimore and Toronto used six-man September rotations. As noted by Rickert, six-man use actually spiked in 1998 as more teams were out of contention than in any other season. This had the effect of bringing meDOR for both leagues to over four days of rest per pitcher for the first time in history."
The other point they make is that the highest rest starter seems to be often used. For instance the record for a 3 man rotation is 39 straight games. The 3 man would be used at times until the 1970's.
"In 1883 the three-man entered the NL as an option for second division teams with untested pitching prospects, and to this day, out-of-contention clubs will often add a pitcher to their rotations at the end of the season. In 2010, both Baltimore and Toronto used six-man September rotations. As noted by Rickert, six-man use actually spiked in 1998 as more teams were out of contention than in any other season. This had the effect of bringing meDOR for both leagues to over four days of rest per pitcher for the first time in history."
The interesting point I think is that there has rarely been strict rotations. Modern teams sometime use 4 man rotations when they is an off day and other times might go to 6 if out of contention and want to test some arms. Even going back to the 19th century the numbers would vary.