Compared to the old days, or even when Nolan Ryan pitched, the hurlers these days are pussies. That’s putting the Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Brandon Webb crowd aside considering those dudes actually make efforts to finish off their games on a regular basis. I’m not saying the way we handle pitchers these days is a bad thing, but I am saying that somewhere along the line pitch counts, Dr. James Andrews, and guaranteed contracts took the place of rosin bags, chewing tobacco, and rubber arms. Thankfully the Texas Rangers still have Nolan Ryan to guide the new generation through the wussied waters. Mr. Express is putting 10 of the youngest, more-promising arms in the Rangers’ system through a conditioning regimen:
On the third day of conditioning camp at The Ballpark in Arlington on Wednesday, the 10 young pitchers the Rangers summoned for this occasion had still yet to throw a baseball.
…
By the end of the day Friday, the last day of camp, the number of pitches that will have been thrown still will be the same: zero.
That’s the one thing many of the durable pitchers share in common: strong legs from good conditioning. Isn’t that something those big Texans like Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens had in common? Well, that and maybe they shared something else too. For people who consider themselves so medically advanced, it’s amazing to see how many pitchers go down with injuries these days. Maybe Ryan’s right. Maybe they all need to start focusing their conditioning on their legs — certainly didn’t hurt for him.
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