Youth

By Paul Wysard

1. Familiar Young Arms: Caution or Coddling?

Kerry Wood - Keep an eye on that arm...

The pre-season magazines are out on the stands and stories related to 2003 are blossoming in the weeklies and the dailies. Lots of words are being devoted to the care and feeding of early-twenty-something pitchers, and much of the discussion is negative. "Pitch count" is the main topic, and it seems to spring largely from the experience of Cub favorite Kerry Wood, who was catapulted in the Majors when he struck out 20 Astros in early 1998. Arm trouble followed and it appears that Wood has returned to full strength in 2002 and, presumably, now. But observers started counting at the time of the Wood case and they continue to do so.

One recent weekly published the following figures and comments:

Ryan Dempster	226 innings pitched at age 22; 211 at 23; 209 at 24. ". . .overworked for three years."
C.C. Sabathia	180 innings pitched at age 20 and 210 at 21. "abuse" over the past two years.
Mark Prior	116 innings pitched as a rookie at 21 in 2002. another "burnout candidate."
Brett Myers	156 innings pitched at AA at 20; 72 as rookie at 21. "seemingly heavy use."
Randy Wolf	206 innings pitched at 23; 163 at 24; 210 at 25. "strong second half" ('02) shows he may "survive the overwork."

The numbers of times these youngsters exceeded 100 pitches in an outing were also covered extensively, and these situations were implicitly tied to Wood's problem. All of this tallying is a relatively new facet in the upbringing of Big League pitchers, and it may or may not be the right way to go, but it differs markedly from past handling which was with us up to just a short generation ago.

Let's look at perhaps the classic opposite case, that of Bob Feller, through the following chart:

Year	Age	W-L Record	Innings Pitched
1938	19	17 - 11	278
1939	20	24 - 9	297
1940	21	27 - 11	320
1941	22	25 - 13	343

There may be a few --- a very few --- pitchers in history who threw harder than the Cleveland legend. And there was also that crackling curve. It is obvious he thrived on work, which apparently also led to longevity; he won his last of 266 games at 36 and pitched for the final time, with a save, at 37. More on his situation later.

Wes Ferrell, another strong Indian righthander, won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons, 1929-32, at ages 21 through 24, with this string of innings pitched: 243, 297, 276 and 288. He did suffer a sore arm in 1933, winning only 11 times, but came back to 14-5 in 1934 and won 20 twice more thereafter.

Not every young pitcher was as successful as fast as Feller and Ferrell under the "old regimen." The great Walter Johnson was 14-14 in his second year at age 20, then was knocked around for 25 losses at age 21, but surged to fame with back- to-back 25-win seasons at 22 and 23. All the while, his workload was extraordinary with respect to innings: 257, 297, a huge 374 when 22, and 323 the next year. Old-timers will contend that a hurler like Johnson learned by doing and grew stronger with work. No pampering. Maybe they have a point... he pitched through age 39.

One clear advantage for younger pitchers in those past days was the travel and schedule situation. Feller and Ferrell played in those wonderful times of day games and train travel in the eastern one-third of the country. There was frequent and comfortable rest; no juggling time zones and 2 a.m. flights to California or Seattle. It had to be better for the body.

But how about Tom Seaver? He pitched in the Jet Age, from coast-to-coast in the expansion era. His numbers below are therefore instructive:

Year	Age	W-L Record	Innings Pitched
1967	22	16 - 13	251
1968	23	16 - 12	278
1969	24	25 - 7	273
1970	25	18 - 12	291

This is not the 300+ load often borne by the likes of Feller and Johnson, but it is overwhelming in comparison to the expectations of the youngsters today. And Seaver was in the game up to just 16 seasons ago, when he won his 311th. We don't have a lot of accurate, published recording of pitches-per-outing for these men from the past, and that is the main criterion today, but all those innings has to mean countless days of 125 or more, well beyond the danger zone for the current 20-25 age group.

Proponents of the cautious approach might point to Koufax, Gibson, and Ryan, all of whom did not get much work until after 25, but that was likely due to wildness. If they had been ready in their earlier days, they would have been used. So... what do you think? Does modern pitcher development reflect wise caution or fussy coddling?

2. Those Special Teenagers
Let's begin by letting everyone know that there is general disinterest on the part of this contributor regarding gifts and eligibility for high school basketball sensation LeBron James. The story is familiar, and adds to the ancient enmity caused by private schools recruiting in public school locales, the clash between eager boosters and interscholastic watchdog boards, faculties with noses out of joint because of the attention lavished upon certain kids. What is of both interest and irritation here is the implication and assumption that this special kid should not yet be allowed to try to enter the professional ranks. "He really ought to go to college, you know."

Why should he go on to higher education? Why shouldn't he play professionally as soon as possible if he is good enough to do so? Do we worry about entertainer LeeAnn Rimes, at 15 or 16, missing too much geometry? Did an earlier generation wring its hands when Elizabeth Taylor filmed National Velvet at 14? Well... not much.

Major League Baseball history is extremely instructive in this debate. Although contracts cannot be signed before age 16, causing all sorts of problems with inaccurate Latin American birthdates lately, the Big Leagues have been commendably and traditionally open to kids ready to play for pay. More power to Baseball, but, most important, kudos to those youngsters with the skill and drive that merit a place in that sun.

Mel Ott was 17 when he hit .363 in 35 games for the Giants in 1926. The next year, at 18, he was .282 in 82 appearances. After that... 500+ homeruns, several World Series, and the Hall of Fame. Bob Feller went 5-3 for the Indians three months before his 18th birthday in 1936, won 17 games at 19, and 24 at 20. Ty Cobb was with the Tigers at 18 and a regular at 19. Rogers Hornsby and Hank Greenberg made their debuts at 19, as did a pitcher named Ruth, who was 2-1 in 1914.

More recently, Al Kaline was on the Tiger bench at 18 in 1953 but was the starting rightfielder in 138 games, and hit .276, the very next year. Robin Yount was 19 when he took over (147 games) at short for the Brewers in 1974. And we should not forget Andruw Jones, who was 19 when he hit .400 and two homeruns in the 1996 Series.

All mentioned above, except Jones, are Hall-of-Famers. In these cases, cream came to the top early. It would have been a shame if that had been prevented, and there were also many players who came up as teenagers and who had very good careers. Just a few of those were Phil Cavaretta (18, Cubs, 1935, a regular and a pennant), Cass Michaels(17, White Sox, 1943), Ralph Branca (18, Dodgers, 1944), Johnny Hodapp(19, Indians, 1925).

The reservations about James' future are a direct result of societal changes. Ott and Cavaretta and Feller, for example, came out of an era in which a high school education was considered sufficient; college was for the rich and for intellectuals. But since the days of the G.I. Bill after World War II, college has become, happily, reachable throughout almost all of society. Less happily, higher education has often been pressed upon young folks who have talents which cause other directions to beckon or who simply do not care to attend.

Mickey Mantle, another teen who ended up in Cooperstown (19, Yankees, 1951), in later life said that the experience was often confusing and depressing. He did get through it, and we all know the rest of his story, but expectations were much higher for him than for most others. Therein lies the rub for kids like James, and perhaps for some superior diamond hopefuls, unknowns now playing on fields in obscure places, but the attention will eventually appear, and they must be given the choice.