Power Pitchers Emerge, Shifting Focus of the Game
By TYLER KEPNER
NYT
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Phil Hughes was about 10 when home runs started soaring out of major league parks with suspicious frequency. As a teenager, he would ride his bike 25 minutes to Angel Stadium, watch from the upper deck and root for the long ball. At Foothill High School in Santa Ana, though, he was more suited to pitch.
“I couldn’t hit,” Hughes said Monday on the eve of his first All-Star Game. “I took whatever route I could to get me here. But yeah, growing up, I loved seeing home runs. I’m sure it’s no different for the fans now. It’s one of those things, though. I think fans got to see their fair share of home runs earlier, and now pitching’s become the new trend.”
Hughes, the Yankees’ 24-year-old right-hander, is part of a bumper crop of talented pitchers who are tilting the game in their favor, despite coming of age when sluggers ruled the game. Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez, 26, will start for the National League on Tuesday night against Tampa Bay’s David Price, a 24-year-old in his first full season.
The N.L. in particular has young pitching talent to spare. Several starters younger than 25 with extraordinary numbers — Jaime Garcia, Clayton Kershaw, Mat Latos and Stephen Strasburg — did not even make the team. With others like Josh Johnson, 26; Tim Lincecum, 26; and Adam Wainwright, 29; along with the over-30 former Cy Young winners Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay, All-Star spots were precious.
(More here.)
NYT
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Phil Hughes was about 10 when home runs started soaring out of major league parks with suspicious frequency. As a teenager, he would ride his bike 25 minutes to Angel Stadium, watch from the upper deck and root for the long ball. At Foothill High School in Santa Ana, though, he was more suited to pitch.
“I couldn’t hit,” Hughes said Monday on the eve of his first All-Star Game. “I took whatever route I could to get me here. But yeah, growing up, I loved seeing home runs. I’m sure it’s no different for the fans now. It’s one of those things, though. I think fans got to see their fair share of home runs earlier, and now pitching’s become the new trend.”
Hughes, the Yankees’ 24-year-old right-hander, is part of a bumper crop of talented pitchers who are tilting the game in their favor, despite coming of age when sluggers ruled the game. Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez, 26, will start for the National League on Tuesday night against Tampa Bay’s David Price, a 24-year-old in his first full season.
The N.L. in particular has young pitching talent to spare. Several starters younger than 25 with extraordinary numbers — Jaime Garcia, Clayton Kershaw, Mat Latos and Stephen Strasburg — did not even make the team. With others like Josh Johnson, 26; Tim Lincecum, 26; and Adam Wainwright, 29; along with the over-30 former Cy Young winners Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay, All-Star spots were precious.
(More here.)
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