Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman slammed MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday when he talked about marketing the sport through starting pitchers.
Gausman implored his followers not to believe anything Manfred said about starting pitching.
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“Don't believe anything this guy says,” Gausman wrote in X. “If the fans don't hit on the spot, get ready for six innings where you can defend the DH.”
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (number 34) after pitching five hitless and scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on September 19, 2024. Stand in the dugout. (Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images)
Gausman's jab was announced several weeks after the baseball world discussed the possibility of introducing a “golden at-bat” rule that would allow each team to select one batter per game to bat, even if he is not the next batter in the batting order. Ta.
Manfred spoke as part of the podcast Questions for Cancer. He said he doesn't think a minimum innings requirement for starting pitchers will help solve the problem.
“Even if there were exceptions, I don't think the specific innings requirement is achievable under our rules,” Manfred said. “It's too blunt a weapon to solve this problem. I think both problems are really serious. I think it's an injury problem, but our doctors are studying this carefully. They continues to believe that a focus on speed and spin rate is a significant contributor to the increase in injuries.
“Look, think about marketing the game. Think about the broadcast. The name and face you see most often is the starting pitcher. Matchups of great starting pitchers have historically been important in terms of marketing the game. And I think we need to earn it.'' Get back to it. ”
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred before Game 4 of the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on October 29, 2024. (Brad Penner Imagen Images)
Manfred said rules need to be created to incentivize teams to develop pitchers who can contribute deeply to the game.
“To me, this needs to be addressed in a more nuanced way. I think the rules around trades are how often pitchers can be on and off the roster. One of the things that's happening today is that pitchers He throws three days in a row, he gets exposed and they bring in someone else. They give him some time off as opposed to him being on the roster forever.
“In order to develop pitchers who can play deeper into the game, I think we need to create incentives through roster rules, club transaction rules, etc. I don't think that's the norm. They have to go to the sixth inning. I think we have to do that.'' It's a set of rules that creates an incentive for clubs to develop certain types of pitchers. ”
CBS Sports noted that his innings rate per starter during the 2024 season will be just 5.2, more than an inning lower than in 1984.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (number 34) pitches during the first inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves on September 6, 2024 at Trust Park in Atlanta. (Brett Davis-Imagine Images)
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Gausman started 31 games in 2024, leading the majors with two complete games and one shutout. He completed at least seven innings of work eight times.
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