TiberTwins

Recently a side comment came up about why modern pitchers don't start 40 games a season like they used to.  The question intrigued me so I did a little searching.  The results surprised me.  Mostly I used the Stathead tool at baseball-reference.com, and the most useful table I constructed is this:
https://stathead.com/tiny/SBDaM
Since the modern era, 1901 and forward, it's never been the case that pitchers in general were regularly making 40 starts.
For periods of years, the major league leader would regularly reach 40.  A few years, there would be more than just one, but never ever as many as there were teams, meaning less than one per team.  So it wasn't part of the job description, it was an achievement.
There was kind of a peak of 40-game starts around 1904-08, another 1914-17, then it picked up again after expansion in 1962 (when the season got a little longer), then quieted down and peaked again around 1973, then basically died out around 1979.  The last 40-game starter was knuckleballer Charlie Hough in 1987, who come to think of it had that in common with other "recent" 40-game-starters Phil Niekro and Wilbur Wood. 
In those 87 years, there were a total of 140 such pitcher-seasons.  One or two a year.  Zero since then of course.
The individual pitchers weren't doing it for years and years without end, either.  Only 31 such seasons were logged by pitchers over the age of 30 (despite the myth that that was when a player would enter his prime).  8 by anyone 35 or older.  Starting 40 was always a young man's game.
For another perspective, Sandy Koufax in 1965 holds the record for season strikeout percentage, 29.5%, among pitchers who started 40 games in a season (and of course Sandy led his entire league in that regard that year, among players who qualified for the ERA title).  By contrast, in 2019 there were 16 ERA qualifiers who had a higher percentage than that.  And even though Sandy was a "unicorn" of his era, and also a prototype for today's pitcher, he was finished before his 31st birthday.  Most of the guys who ever started 40 games weren't striking out the side.
Today it's 5-man rotations. Divided into 162 games, that's about 32 starts per season.
Used to be 4-man rotations. Divided into 162, that gives you 40. Divided into the older 154-game schedule, that's 38 or so.
Of course in really olden days, back into the 19th century, you might have 3 or even 2 workhorses who handled the bulk of the chores.  But back then the schedules could be more erratic too, and the game was just played differently.
Anyway, major league teams settled into an every-fourth-game routine a lot quicker than people sometimes remember.  Well, remember reading about.  That made 40 an uncommon feat.
Managers would love to have their best pitcher get as many starts as possible, so they'd be sending someone out 40 times if they could.  The tImes changed, not the intestinal fortitude of the players.

2027 AD.
 
The Playoffs.
 
Yankee Stadium.
 
The stands are filled with screeching Yankees fans. Some wear spiked shoulder pads. Some look like the Baseball Furies. Zombies sit in the cheap seats.
 
Billy Crystal stands on the pitcher's mound, dressed exactly like Tupac in the "California Love" video. He incites the crowd to heightened frenzies. The zombies are having fun.
 
"Who will the New York Yankees select to play in the playoffs?" Mad Billy shouts.
 
In the other dugout, the Minnesota Twins are all cowering under blankets. The manager wears Groucho glasses.
The crowd hushes. Who will they pick?
 
"Should we pick the Indians?" Billy asks.
 
"Noooo!" screams the crowd.
 
"How about the Astros?"
 
"Nooooo!" screams the crowd.
 
"Who can we choose?" says Mad Billy Crystal. "Which team will guarantee a Yankees VICTORY?"
 
"Just spit it out!" shouts one of the Minnesota Twins.
 
Billy Crystal moonwalks around the bases.
 
"Who do we choo-choo-choose?" he says.
 
"Twins! Twins! Twins!" screams the crowd.
 
The Jumbotron replays all of the times the Yankees beat the Twins in the playoffs.
 
"Stop picking us!" scream the Twins fans as they huddle together. "Just stop it! Let us be!"
 
"Twins! Twins! Twins!" the Yankee fans chant.
 
The camera pulls back and we see we have been watching a cell phone screen in a Minnesota cabin.
The wind howls.
 
"Will it ever not be the Yankees, Papa?" a child asks.
 
The father simply shoves the child's face into a tater tot hot dish.

Take a look at an article I wrote on the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network! I think a all of what I wrote could also be applied to the Polanco situation as well, except for the Hall of Fame stuff I suppose...
 
https://cbscout.net/2018/05/23/robinson-cano-excuses-dominican-republic/

Today, Sam Miller at ESPN wrote that the Strikeout rate in baseball is going up for the 14th year in a row. Last year pitchers struck out 8.2 batters per nine and this year it is 8.6 so far. The first question is why don't batters care? Second question is - how do we compare strikeout rates now with past pitching performances and careers - although Nolan Ryan is not only secure, his record means more because of when he set it.
 
A side note is the fact that starting pitcher strikeout rates is up and relief is down. Why. I suspect it is because they now have so many relief pitchers on every squad that there are bound to be some mediocre pitchers in the bullpen - look at our bullpen and then imagine the bullpens on poor teams!
 
Next I read an article by Jerry Crasnick on the path to 3000 hits by Albert Pujols. Pujols has never struck out more than 93 times a year and he also has over 600 homeruns. In the article Pujols states "Some guys in this league think the strikeout is overrated." "Its something in the game I really don't like. If you put the ball in play you give yourself a chance to put some pressure on the defense, and maybe they can make a mistake and make an error. If its two outs you can start a rally. If you strike out, you don't have a chance."
 
All I can say is AMEN. Imagine Buxton dropping his K rate in half and having a chance for an infield single every time he does, or causing an error because the fielder is in a hurry because of his speed. Imagine Sano dropping his K rate in half which would still be high, but he might not leave so many on base or kill so many innings.
 
Baseball is all about trends. Right now Ks are in and I am not pleased.

I'm very happy that Joe had a great year. It was nice to see him return to the .300 club.
 
Many years ago I sat in a packed, humid gym for a taping of an ESPN special focusing on Joe - just as contract negotiations were heating up. He had just won the MVP, his second consecutive gold glove, and became the first catcher to lead the league in average, obp, and slugging. When I looked up the details of his contract I noticed that there are bonuses of $25k for each Gold Glove or All-Star Selection. So perhaps his twins will after all get new shoes for Christmas.
 
Anyhoo, I recently ran across a Letterman-style top ten list I created in 2009 for his demands in the big contract. Enjoy:
 
Top Ten Joe Mauer Contract Requirements
10. Any written mention of “M&m boys” must consist of one lower case “m” to denote justin morneau
9. At every home game, must be met at his car by Jerry Bell, Howard Fox, Bill Smith and Dave St. Peter and carried in a Cleopatra-like palanquin into Target Field
8. Opposing fielders must say “one mvp, two mvp, three mvp” prior to moving in any direction in an attempt to field a ball put into play by Mr. Mauer
7. Ten bucks added to bi-weekly payroll every time Gardy says “…and we’ll go from there”
6. Umpires must inquire of Mr. Mauer regarding his opinion as to whether the immediately preceding pitch did indeed cross into the strike zone prior to signaling strike or ball. Said requirement is optional during play in which Mr. Mauer is neither catcher nor batter nor a game in which the Minnesota Baseball Club (nor any future Yankee Baseball Clubs for which Mr. Mauer may play) is not participating.
5. Searchlight added to top of hitting and catching helmets that projects letters “MVP” onto clouds on overcast nights
4. Bud Selig must, at his own expense, fly in and host weekly gala luncheon for all mlb catchers that have won batting titles (no descendants, please)
3. In any situation likely requiring him to slide, Nick Punto must belly-slide immediately under Mr. Mauer to reduce possibility of injury
2. Opposing players stealing second must run laterally so as never to show their back to Mr. Mauer and repeatedly bow during their attempt
1. Two words: Sideburn insurance