Why Michael Lorenzen’s pitch count was such a concern in his no-hitter

Big league pitchers are an easy target for those who believe that society is in the midst of a Great Wussification. Once upon a time, a starter’s job was to pitch as many innings as possible as often as possible, consequences be damned. Guys like Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton regularly logged 300 innings in a season. They didn’t need pitch counts and extra days of rest. They were lucky if we gave them water.

Which is why, on Wednesday night, a howl of consternation greeted anybody who suggested that Michael Lorenzen’s pitch count might be a more important consideration than the fact that he had not allowed the hit. Sure, he’d finished the seventh inning at 100 pitches, just seven shy of his career high. Sure, the Phillies had the game well in hand, with a 7-0 lead against one of the worst teams in the majors. But Lorenzen was a pitcher on the doorstep of history. Was Rob Thomson really willing to slam the thing in his face? Because of a pitch count?

Well, yes.

“In my mind, it was like, if he gets 113, 114, 115 pitches, we’ve got to get him out,” Thomson said. “Because we have to keep this guy healthy. You know how important health is for me. He’s got a career to think about. And I’ve got to think about his career.”

I get why that sounds so strange. The game has changed dramatically over the last decade. In 2011, major league pitchers averaged 97 pitches in a game. Last year, that number was just 85. The 2022 season saw just eight pitchers finish with 200-plus innings, down from an average of around 40 between 1962 and 1993. In 2011, there were 173 complete games. In 2022, there were 36.

But this isn’t a product of coddling. Rather, it’s an adaptation designed to help pitchers survive an era when the swing speeds are faster, the ballparks are smaller, and the technology is optimized for offensive performance. Simply put, it’s a lot harder to retire hitters now than it was a decade or two ago. Every pitch requires more effort, more energy, more strain. In 2022, there were nearly 3,400 pitches thrown at 100-plus mph, according to StatCast. That’s three times as many as were thrown as recently as 2017.

A couple of days ago, I was talking to Aaron Nola in the Phillies clubhouse when he mentioned how much the game has changed just in his nine seasons in the majors.

» READ MORE: A no-hitter, a Texas breakfast, and the surprising story of a young Aaron Nola and an old Cole Hamels

In many ways, Nola is a throwback. He’s on pace for his fourth season of 200-plus innings, which would be the third-highest total for any starting pitcher since his first full season in 2016. The only pitchers to throw more innings since then are Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer.

Yet Nola understands why he is such a rarity. Part of it is the level of physical exertion required by today’s big league stuff. It’s basic physiology. The faster the velocity, the harder the break, the higher the level of force on the body. Yet the body’s basic building blocks haven’t changed. Bones, ligaments, joints — they are made of the same stuff they were made of 100 years ago.

“Everybody is throwing 95 now,” he said.

But Nola also mentioned something that I hadn’t thought of.

“One of the biggest things is all the data,” he said. “Hitters have so much information now.”

Long story short, every pitch is a battle. It’s one reason why Nola’s own struggles this season make a lot of sense. Think about how much of a battle a postseason at-bat is for a pitcher. Think about a month’s worth of those battles stacked on top of a career high in regular-season innings. Nola wasn’t asking for any slack. He wasn’t even talking about himself. But it explains a lot.

Now, think about Wednesday night.

Listening to Thomson talk about letting his pitcher stay in the game to complete the 14th no-hitter in Phillies history, you got the sense that the evening was as stressful for him as it was for Lorenzen. When Lorenzen assured the manager that he still felt strong at 100 pitches through seven, Thomson told him that he’d give him 20 more. By the time Dominic Smith stepped in the box with two outs in the ninth, Thomson was certain this was his last batter, even if he walked.

» READ MORE: Michael Lorenzen could be more Roy Oswalt than Joe Blanton

In the end, Smith flew out to center field, and Lorenzen finished off the no-no with a career-high 124 pitches. It’s not an absurd number, but it is the fifth-highest total of pitches thrown in the majors over the last three seasons.

The other four pitchers who reached that threshold offer something of a cautionary tale. Cole had a 2.91 ERA before throwing 129 pitches in 2021. He had a 4.14 ERA after. Trevor Bauer went from 2.07 to 3.48, Miles Mikolas from 2.93 to 3.75, Jordan Lyles from 5.12 to 5.32.

That’s too small of a sample to draw any conclusions. Besides, none of the four fell completely off a cliff. Lorenzen will have the benefit of some extra rest before his next start — potentially three extra days, according to Thomson.

The aftermath of the moment served to justify the risk. This was the kind of thing that can buoy a team. The concern was equally as justified. Just look at the impact a healthy Lorenzen can have on the Phillies.

Folks who grew up watching Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan regularly log 300-plus innings in a season are aghast.

But the risk.