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The year of the ancient pitcher
By: Jimmy Smith
Who would have guessed that the 2006 MLB season would see dominance from players on the last leg of their careers? Not only position players, but also the elder statesmen of pitching have seen a great amount of success so far this year.
I will start with the bloody- sock bandit, Curtis Montague Schilling. He is 39 years old and has been in the league for 18 years. Schilling has pitched for Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Arizona. All of those years in service and you would think it would take a toll on him. In 1992, Shilling had his best season when it comes to ERA. He finished with a 2.35 ERA and as of today Curt has a 2.88 ERA and leads the American League in strikeouts with 40. How does this happen? How can a 39 year old pitcher how has been around the block a couple times, have five wins. Could have it been that miraculous performance in the ALCS in 2004? Or like a fine wine, is he best when he is aged?
Another pitcher near retirement that is experiencing success this year is Greg Maddux. Much like Schilling, Maddux has come out of the gates hot this year despite his age. The 40 year old with 20 years of Major League experience is 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA. Now what is Gregory the Great’s deal? The St. Louis Cardinals thought he was scuffing the ball to increase movement. Jim Edmonds even asked that the umpire remove a ball from play because he thought that Maddux tampered with the ball. Nope, wrong answer. Greg proceeded to get the victory 7-3, striking out four and getting ten ground ball outs.
Pedro Martinez may not be as old as the other two but he is experiencing similar success. At only 34 years of age, Martinez has been in the league since he was 20. I consider him to be old because, he has pitched for 14 years, which is almost half of his life. Pitching for four teams throughout his career adds to his aging process. Three of those four teams, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Boston, have seen Pedro at his best. But the past couple years, the New York Mets have had a dud on their hands. But this year, Pedro is king of that staff. He is 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA. Despite the amount of hype and money spent on the Mets this year, they are performing beyond the dollar signs.
How can you begin to explain this? Well one explanation comes from sociology. The theory of disengagement states that when you become older you remove yourself from society. This is not even close to what these three are doing. They are very much involved in the society of Major League Baseball. Another theory is the theory of subculture. This theory says that the elderly only stick together. Well, when one old man does well, the others seem to follow close behind. No matter how you explain it, these guys are absolutely man handling the younglings this season. Could this be the last for Schilling and Maddux? Well they end on a high note? Only time will tell, but for these guys time is not a factor.
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