200, too many?

 

In 1879, Will White tossed 680 innings in a single season and he earned 43 wins, while taking 31 losses. It’s impossible to see a pitcher throw more than 600 innings in modern baseball games. Additionally, we might not see many pitchers throw 200 innings in a single season.

In 2010, Hall of Famer Roy Halladay tossed 250.2 innings for the Phillies and he got 21 wins with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Without many doubts, Roy Halladay won the 2010 NL Cy Young award. Meanwhile, Felix Hernandez won the AL Cy Young award and he tossed 249.2 innings for the Mariners with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. In the 2010 season, 45 pitchers threw at least 200 innings. In 2011, Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez each tossed 233.2 innings, but the Cy Young awards went to other pitchers. Clayton Kershaw tossed 233.1 innings in 2011 and got 21 wins with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Kershaw got his first Cy Young award in 2011. In the AL, Justin Verlander threw 251 innings and earned 24 wins. Verlander had an ERA of 2.40 and a 0.92 WHIP. He not only won the AL Cy Young award, but also won the AL MVP. In the 2011 season, 39 pitchers threw at least 200 innings.

In 2012, 31 pitchers threw at least 200 innings. Justin Verlander tossed 238.1 innings for the Tigers. In the NL, the Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey threw 233.2 innings and got 20 wins. The next season, Adam Wainwright was the only pitcher who threw more than 240 innings. In total, 36 pitchers threw at least 200 IP in 2013. In 2014, David Price and Johnny Cueto each tossed more than 240 innings. AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber threw 235.2 innings. 2014 was a big year for Clayton Kershaw because he won his third NL Cy Young award and was named the NL MVP. However, due to injury, Kershaw only tossed 198.1 innings. In the meantime, there were still more than 30 pitchers to throw at least 200 innings.

Clayton Kershaw threw 301 strikeouts in 2015 and he tossed 232.2 innings, leading the majors. AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel also tossed more than 230 innings. NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta threw 229 innings. In total, 28 pitchers tossed at least 200 innings in 2015.

The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series championship to end the 108-year drought. It’s also worth noting that only 15 pitchers threw at least 200 innings in 2016. The next season, there were also 15 pitchers who tossed at least 200 innings. Chris Sale and Ervin Santana were the only two pitchers who threw more than 210 innings in 2017.

 

In 2018, only 13 players threw at least 200 innings. The AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell made 31 starts and tossed 180.2 innings. In 2019, Justin Verlander got his second Cy Young award and threw 223 innings, leading the majors. 15 pitchers threw at least 200 innings in the 2019 season.

When we look back, each team probably changed their ideas of pitcher usage in 2016. Starting pitchers don’t work deeper into games and now we frequently see that MLB teams prefer not to let a starting pitcher go three times through the order. By far this season, Zack Wheeler tossed 147 innings, leading the majors. Walker Buehler also threw more than 140 innings already. But, it’s unclear if any pitchers will toss 200 innings.