You're looking at the small picture when you saw that. Yes some of the greatest pitchers of all time didn't have the restrictions that they do now, however you're ignoring the thousands upon thousands of pitchers who've had promise, pitched for an average of 1.2 seasons, (the average length of a pitcher's career prior to 1974) and had arm problems that either A. derailed or B. ended their careers. Those that didn't were exceptions to the rule, not the other way around.
You've also got to keep in mind that pitchers now are trained to throw harder than ever before. Guys that threw in the 90s in pre-1960 were guaranteed aces. Now, unless a guy has plus plus control, he's not pitching in the Majors without a 90+ fastball. Then you get into the real science of it: mechanics. Scapular loading, inverted W, and pre-pitch forearm pronation are all biomechanic issues with todays pitchers that never happened before. Pitchers before were told to throw how they wanted, now most coaches train kids to throw the way they think is correct, no matter how unqualified the coach is.
And then there's the financial issue. It's the nature of the beast. Want a pitcher around longer? The smart thing to do is limit him, and there is substantial evidence that limiting pitchers prolongs their careers significantly.
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I got into an argument with a coworker about arm injuries back in the day. He kept harping literally over and over for several minutes about how pitchers today were not like Bob Feller because Bob Feller went out there almost every day and threw more than 100 pitches a game and Bob Feller threw more than 300 innings a year...
Finally, I answered that for every Bob Feller out there, there were at least 40 David Clydes, Gary Nolans, Jim Maloneys, Santo Alcalas, Wayne Simpsons, Jack Armstrongs, Jose Rigos...the list went on.
He shrugged and said "Yeah, but I've never heard of most of those guys."
He gave me a strange look when I told him that was my point.
As for Junior...I literally watched the guy grow up. When I was a kid, I remember his dad coming up, and somewhere, I have a picture of a 5-year-old Junior in a father-son game, along with Dave Concepcion's kid.
During the 1990s, he was obviously one of the best (if not the best...and I think he was) in the game. Defensively, there was no equal and when his bat was hot, he was hot. I remember jumping up and down in the living room, waving him home on the Martinez hit shortly before the famous Smile in the Pile. Of course, I was thrilled when he became a Red - unfortunately, by that time, his turf knees were starting to bark a little too loud. Watching Junior the last couple of years has probably been like watching Willie Mays with the Mets or Babe Ruth with the Boston Braves.
I always thought it was a shame he spent so many years on turf. I think few appreciate the damage the stuff did to outfield knees: I can only think of a couple true Hall-of-Famers who played on turf (Andrew Dawson - and his knees were gone by the time he got to Chicago, and Kirby Puckett. How a guy with his build never got bad knees, I will never know). I am glad to see most teams in baseball have moved away from fake grass.
And finally, he did it without PEDs. If you look at his build as a 19-year-old, he still has the same basic build. Yeah, his ass it a bit bigger - but he never turned into a mutant. In fact, if you look at pictures of his dad at the same age...the two could be twins.
It's too bad to see someone I virtually grew up retire - and especially to go out like this (and without a ring)...but I guess with a mutant like Jamie Moyer still taking the mound, I don't feel so old.
This is just plain wrong!!!
