Some recent thoughts percolating amidst the cobwebs of my mind (was that a Glen Campbell song?):
I heard an interview by Mike Trout a couple years ago where he compared pitching when he entered the league, and pitching now. He said it used to be very difficult, now it's close to impossible to hit.
Most every team experienced significant losing streaks this season. Most batters experienced slumps. In the NL Trea Turner won the batting title with a .304 average.
I know there are still a lot of home runs. But also continued increased strike outs. It's more difficult to put the bat on the ball. Maybe a batters swing has to he mechanically more precise. Slumps more prevalent. And then it gets in one’s mind and a slump can prolong. Ohtani was 1-19 in the NLDS. Harper and Schwarber both slumped in the NLDS. Players have always slumped, but I don't recall the losing streaks happening to most every team.
Per BA, 192 pitchers hit 100 MPH this past season. With most of them being in MiBL.
And now batters face most starters 2 at-bats, then different pitchers subsequent at-bats.
It just seems much more difficult to hit today. We see the slumps and strikeouts. And the toll this takes on pitchers with the exploding number of TJ.
Harris' approach seems in line with this thinking. Control the strike zone. Value bat to ball skills.
The game is more difficult. With guys like McGonigle coming up, I remain positive about Detroit's future
BA article
How Many Professional Pitchers Throw 100 MPH? https://share.google/JWnEniII0WczuqNXX