MLB legend Randy Johnson recently dropped a hot take on Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes. But the Bit Unit’s advice for the young fireballer is far from sage.
“He’s definitely special, but in today’s game, he’s going to be held back for the rest of this year and maybe next year,” Johnson told CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder. “But if you want to be the pitcher that you’re capable of being, you need to step up and show people what you’re capable of doing and voice your opinion, because going five or six innings you’re not going to win very many ballgames in today’s game. “You’re gonna have to go seven or eight innings and you’re not going to hurt yourself because the game has been around for 150 years and people went 7-8 innings all the time and they threw 115-135 pitches. You just have to mold your body and your body needs to become accustomed to that kind of workload. That’s all it is.”
However, that’s really not “all it is.” Johnson isn’t taking into account how the game has changed since his playing days.
First, the MLB no longer values wins as a statistic for starting pitchers. Consider Jacob deGrom. Universally recognized as one of the best pitchers in the game, deGrom won back-to-back Cy Young Awards with 10 and 11 wins, respectively.
The lack of wins also had zero effect on his market value. When he hit free agency after the 2022 season, the Texas Rangers secured him with a five-year, $185 million bag.
Another reason Johnson’s advice falls flat is the fact that Skenes does have to be careful with his arm. In an era of skyrocketing pitching injuries, Skenes may be lucky to make it to his first big free-agent contract with his righty cannon fully intact.
Another CBS Sports report by Matt Snyder quoted injury expert Marty Jaramillo, who said that pitcher elbow injuries have gone up by 400 percent in the last decade, and pretty much everything seems to be the problem.
“Why the rise?” Asked Jaramillo, per Snyder. “It depends who you ask and everybody is right.”
Indeed, the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) blames the recent addition of the pitch clock reducing recovery time between pitches. The MLB front office points to a 30-year pattern of burgeoning metrics like spin rate. Still other experts put the onus on specific pitches, such as the sweeper and hard changeup.
Whatever is causing the spate of hurler injuries, being careful can’t hurt — especially for a youngster like Skenes who’ll become a free agent when 10-figure paydays might be on the table. So while Johnson likely meant well, thinking of Skenes’ legacy and all, the legendary lefty should probably keep his opinion to himself.
Johnson should just sit back and thank his lucky stars that whatever special touch he received from the baseball gods kept him in games long enough to be the last 300-win pitcher in history.
