Comments on: Outliers, Birth Dates and Baseball http://jonahkeri.com/2009/01/03/outliers-and-baseball/ Articles and media appearances by Jonah Keri Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:36:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Jonah http://jonahkeri.com/2009/01/03/outliers-and-baseball/#comment-283 Jonah Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:49:39 +0000 http://jonahkeri.com/?p=726#comment-283 That makes sense, Hank, and I think you're spot on about pitching being an unnatural act, such that those that make it to 10,000 hours are genetic anomalies of sorts. Most pitchers, especially young one, would break down and/or lose effectiveness under that kind of long-term stress. I've got a biog feature I'm working on for ESPN.com that I hope to have done by Opening Day which talks about that topic, through the prism of a famous 1974 game in which Nolan Ryan and Luis Tiant threw something insane like 450 combined pitches. Definitely a big interest of mine, to examine pitching, workloads and ways to beat the odds. That makes sense, Hank, and I think you’re spot on about pitching being an unnatural act, such that those that make it to 10,000 hours are genetic anomalies of sorts. Most pitchers, especially young one, would break down and/or lose effectiveness under that kind of long-term stress.

I’ve got a biog feature I’m working on for ESPN.com that I hope to have done by Opening Day which talks about that topic, through the prism of a famous 1974 game in which Nolan Ryan and Luis Tiant threw something insane like 450 combined pitches. Definitely a big interest of mine, to examine pitching, workloads and ways to beat the odds.

]]> By: hankbrockett http://jonahkeri.com/2009/01/03/outliers-and-baseball/#comment-282 hankbrockett Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:12:17 +0000 http://jonahkeri.com/?p=726#comment-282 One of the baseball-related Outliers thoughts I had involved the concept of 10,000 hours to master a craft, and how it related to pitching. I suppose Nolan Ryan could read it and say "Whip those arms into shape!" to prepare young pitchers. But such a physically demanding action probably falls outside the bounds of that concept. It certainly would explain why 18-year-old basketball players can succeed in the NBA now if they've been dribbling since leaving the womb. One of the baseball-related Outliers thoughts I had involved the concept of 10,000 hours to master a craft, and how it related to pitching. I suppose Nolan Ryan could read it and say “Whip those arms into shape!” to prepare young pitchers. But such a physically demanding action probably falls outside the bounds of that concept. It certainly would explain why 18-year-old basketball players can succeed in the NBA now if they’ve been dribbling since leaving the womb.

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