BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Live Arms, but a Dying Breed

It goes beyond the fact that Nolan Ryan stepped out of the Angels’ Hall of Fame Wednesday night to make what might have been his last start at Anaheim Stadium.

The larger story is this:

The last of a breed may have been on display in the past 48 hours at the Big A.

As Bobby Valentine, Ryan’s manager with the Texas Rangers, put it:

“The workhorse mentality is dying.”

He referred to the workhorse mentality of Ryan, the foremost power pitcher of the last 20 years, and Bert Blyleven, the foremost breaking-ball pitcher of that era.

He referred to the mentality that has helped Ryan become one of only 20 pitchers with 300 or more victories, one of only 12 with 5,000 or more innings, one of only 12 with both.

He referred, as well, to the workhorse mentality that has helped Blyleven register 282 victories and pitch 4,869 2/3 innings, the mentality that has helped him renew his milestone march after two shoulder operations and almost two years of recovery.

A dying breed?

Who challenges 300 and 5,000 next, if anyone?

In the big-buck era, does anyone have the motivation and mentality to sustain 25 major league seasons, like Ryan, or 22, like Blyleven?

In the era of relief specialists, five-man rotations, pitch counting and “all-I-want-to-do-is-get-us-to-the-setup-man” thinking by most starters, who cares about innings pitched or complete games or even, in many cases, who gets the W?

Said Marcel Lachemann, Angel pitching coach: “In some ways we’ve made it easier. The starters don’t have to throw all the complete games that Nolan and Bert did. They only have to go six or seven innings to get a win, but the way the money is, I don’t see guys staying in the game as long. They can make it and get out.”

It’s the do less for more theory.

“With (multiyear) contracts today, there’s a big concern for longevity and getting them to pitch a long time (i.e. the length of the contract, at least) rather than a lot of innings,” said John Wathan, the Angels’ interim manager.

“But you look at guys like Bert and Nolan, who have pitched a lot of innings and are still at it, and you have to think that maybe we baby pitchers too much these days.

“I mean, growing up I was always told that the more you throw, the stronger your arm gets, but that’s not what they tell kids anymore.”

Said Valentine: “There are so many outside influences and pressures now. There’s the agent, the stat man, the reporters. Everyone’s counting pitches. If a guy had a sore arm, it’s because he had a sore arm. Now it’s because he threw too many pitches.

“Young guys don’t get the opportunity to be (what Ryan and Blyleven were). They came up knowing they had to pitch and they had to pitch complete games to get a contract for next year.

“Now (with multiyear contracts), guys aren’t thinking so much what they should do but what they shouldn’t do (to avoid risking physical longevity).”

In five different seasons as a young pitcher, Ryan, 45, and still clocking in the mid-90s on the speed gun, threw 20 or more complete games. Blyleven, 41, and 3-0 in his remarkable comeback, had seven seasons of 15 or more. Last year, 22 of the 26 teams had fewer than 20 complete games. Tom Glavine and Dennis Martinez led the National League with nine. Jack McDowell led the American League with 15.

The CG has been replaced by the MRI. No one pitches with a tweak or twinge. Six pitchers--Steve Carlton, Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Tom Seaver and Ryan--have joined the 300 club in recent years, but who mounts a challenge after Blyleven?

Only two other active pitchers are over 200. Frank Tanana has 225 wins but is 39 and only spot starting for the Detroit Tigers. Jack Morris has 223, is 37, has gone from Detroit to Minnesota to Toronto in consecutive seasons and may eventually find checkbooks closing on him.

Martinez, 37, is the leader among active NL pitchers with 183. Dwight Gooden’s once solid foundation--132 victories at 27--has been jeopardized by a fragile shoulder. Among younger pitchers, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox probably best personifies the workhorse mentality of Ryan and Blyleven.

Clemens, who turns 30 in August, has 143 victories and 1,896 innings.

“The big change is the five-man rotation,” Blyleven said. “As strong as Roger Clemens is, he pitches in a five-man and is probably programmed to go about 230 or 240 innings (271 last year).

“The first five years of my career I averaged about 280 innings. I just think it’s hard to pitch 5,000 in a five-man rotation. You’re talking about averaging 250 innings for 20 years. Besides, with the relief specialists, those innings and complete games don’t mean as much now.”

There has never been a time when innings weren’t important. They are simply distributed differently now, but a workhorse mentality is a workhorse mentality. Blyleven said he won’t consider himself completely back until he is capable of pitching a complete game.

Blyleven has rejuvenated his career at a time when there is some feeling that Ryan might be in his final summer. While still throwing more than 90 m.p.h., Ryan retired 16 in a row at one point Wednesday night, but his winless streak reached 13 in a 3-0 loss. The frustration of pitching well enough again to win but not, Ryan admits, is mounting, though he hears only words of support from his manager.

“We tend to expect perfection from professional athletes,” Valentine said. “With Nolan, we take it to the next level, and when we don’t get it we’re disappointed. But I’ve seen a lot of pitchers go through here this year (the Rangers have used 21) and in the past and I still feel he’s the best. It’s not just his ability to still stand out there and throw hard, it’s his ability to still pitch, period.”

Inevitably, both Blyleven and Ryan will have to end their numbers games.

At that point, both will be happy if they’re remembered as workhorses.

“Definitely,” Blyleven said. “Nolan and I wanted the ball, and every time it was with the full intention of going nine innings, not six.”

Said Ryan: “I’d take pride in (being remembered as a workhorse) because it reflects the dedication and work ethic that are so important to me and reflects what my roots are.

“With the money and the way they use pitchers now, I don’t know how many guys are going to pitch as long as Bert and I have.”