Tim Kurkjian wrote a great article today, but how young pitching is taking over the game of baseball. Only a couple years ago there wasn't very much of it, and the league was dominated by HRs. Things are different now. Tim Lincecum, Josh Johnson, Tommy Hanson, Matt Cain, Ubaldo Jimenez, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Jon Lester, Rick Porcello, Zach Grienke, and Felix Hernandez (the list goes on and on) are the ones in control now. They are the hot commodities, but why is it happening?
Is it because steroids are gone? Perhaps, but I am also interesting to know why guess can throw so much harder now. If you went back 5 years ago it was very rare to see anyone throwing 100 MPH, but now it seems like everyone has at least 1 guy who is around there. Players are just getting bigger and stronger, and with steroids gone the playing field seems to be more even.
But it isn't just the steroids. I think a lot of it is just the new wave of players. For a time you had guys like Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, but as they got older no one really stepped up and took their place until now. It happens in every major sport. Trends come and go.
Take hockey for example. After Wayne Gretzky, and Mario Lemieux retired there was a little let down of "star goal scorers". Now we are seeing the emergence of guys like Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin. Sports go through these times, so I hope you are all ready, because this is the age of pitching in baseball.
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