[JBird]

Originally Posted by gtboys34

i dont understand certain things about basebal, anyone mind helping me with this question. Ok, why don't pitcher's get to start in the entire game? And also, why dont they get to start 2 or 3 games straight?? Is it b/c they have to rest their arm? oOo:

hmm. well, there are starting pitchers, middle relief pitchers, and relief pitchers.

something to understand about pitching in baseball. because it is done overhand, an unnatural movement for the arm, it creates tremendous wear and tear on the shoulder + rotator cuff. most starting pitchers generally have a "pitch count", a set amount of pitches where once they reach that, they need to come out. for most its around 100 to 110. (exceptions, randy johnson, prior, wood, pedro....130+)

so, if the starting pitcher gets hit hard, and his pitch count goes way up, he will probably be out very early, maybe the 4th through 6th inning. another reason, as you mentioned, arm rest is a MUST. baseball pitching arms are like a lamborghini. they can go very fast, but need a lot of tuneing and care. have you ever played catch with someone for more than 20 minutes? if you dont do daily arm strengthening excercises and stretches, it will hurt and be sore.

your last statement, which i found rather amusing, hopefully you can put the pieces together now and see why that is impossible. lets say mark prior just pitched a complete 9 inning game, which took him around 120 pitches. he probably threw 80 fastballs avg 94 mph ....the rest change up , curves etc. i dont know if you pitched or even played baseball, but i used to be a pitcher in highschool. let me tell you, your arm feels like jello after pitching such a game. too even think about having a pitcher start 2 or 3 happy: games in a row is basically like driving your lamborghini on the autobahn at 170mph for yrs without changing the oil or getting a tune up. the only guy who could possibly get away with 2 starts in a row, would maybe be randy johnson (a few yrs back). the closest 2 starts any pitchers have made would be in the playoffs here, 2 days rest or 3 days rest instead of 5.

hope this helps beer: