by Chris Burke

Created on: June 21, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

I guess that I will take this question at more than face value. Are pitchers capable of complete games? Yes, assuming a number of factors work out perfectly.

But are they consistently capable of complete games? Not anymore.

You don't have to go back that far for big complete games numbers: Phil Niekro topped 20 complete games in 1977, '78 and '79, Steve Carlton and Fergie Jenkins each registered 30 in the early 70s, and Fernando Valenzuela even had 20 in 1986.

Since 2000, though, no pitcher has had more than nine complete games Livan Hernandez pulled off that feat in 2004.

So, technically, pitchers can throw complete games. Why isn't it happening more then?

Well, there are a lot of factors none more critical to this argument than the type of specialization that has gone on in baseball lately. Look back at baseball teams 20, 40 or 60 years ago. They would have their starting pitchers, expect them to go deep into games, and then maybe turn it over to the bullpen for a couple of innings at most.

The expectations are not there anymore for starters to power through nine innings. If a starter can give you six strong innings, that's a spectacular effort these days. Most teams have pitchers slotted in for seventh, eighth and ninth inning duties. On top of that, each team now likes to carry (at least) one left-handed pitcher in the bullpen, used specifically against left handed batters. Most games, these specialists will pitch to one batter and call it a day.

This way of thinking permeates baseball now, and that is the main reason why starters cannot go the distance much. It is not a major league baseball phenomenon.

Coming up through high school, college and minor league ball, teams at all levels break down their bullpens for late-inning work. Physically, this impacts pitchers. The stamina to throw complete games, let alone several complete games in a season, is just not there, and it will continue down this road.

Hernandez is the exception to the rule these days: He is a durable pitcher who can easily go past the taboo 100-pitch mark, where most starters are limited to. More than that, he has been able to stay healthy, never making a trip to the disabled list.

With salaries the way they are, and free agency rampant throughout baseball, teams cannot take the chance on extending pitchers that are injury risks. In Toronto, ace Roy Halladay is a guy who has shown the ability to throw 120, 130 pitches in a game. But he's also found himself on the disabled list several times. This is the cautionary tale that teams have in mind.

Most pitchers have the ability to pitch complete games if their pitch count stays low, if they throw a strong game and keep the opposition off the board, and if the manager feels comfortable enough to stick with them for nine innings.

More and more, however, pitchers are not capable of tossing complete games, and certainly not high numbers of complete games like in years past.

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