Big difference in the game today; pitch counts

Former Pirate Doug Drabek, who is now a pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system, sees differences in the game from when he used to play.

“The game has changed a little bit,” Drabek said. “But it is still, basically, that you show up on time, you go out and play hard. The fundamentals, the basics are all the same. It is still throw strikes, catch the ball, hit the ball. It is the same game.”

The big difference he says, is pitch counts.

“There is a pitch count that I had to learn,” he said of when he transitioned to a coach. “At first, I didn’t believe in it. I figured that you’d go until you get tired, and hitters will let you know if you are tired or not or if you are just stinkin’ that bad.”

“But I saw how [throwing too many pitches] affected some. Where you could tell, toward the end [of a season] that they weren’t used [to throwing so many pitches].

“A lot of guys were asking, ‘Why does my fastball not feel like it normally does?’ … I see where it is best, now, for these guys to give their arm, and their body, a little break.”