Pitch count

Last month, I went to Tokyo with some friends. An important thing for us was to watch World Baseball Classic games at Tokyo Dome. Indeed, watching baseball games was fantastic. We saw fans from different continents.

 

In the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the pitcher limit is 65 pitches per game and there are other limits. It truly tests a manager’s ability to utilize its pitching depth. While watching a game that the team Japan was playing, I was just thinking about the pitch count and was wondering which pitchers had thrown a lot over the last several seasons. After the game, I decided to check on the MLB website.

 

To make things easier, let’s look at the leaders in each of the last 5 seasons.

 

In 2021, Zack Wheeler led the majors with 3205 pitches. There were no other pitchers who threw at least 3200 pitches as Wheeler did. Wheeler did a great job in 2021, posting a 2.78 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 213.1 innings. No other pitchers tossed more innings than Wheeler did. Opponents only hit .215 against him.

 

In 2022, Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole each threw 3274 pitches. Burnes made 33 starts in 2022, posting a 2.94 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 202 innings. Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole threw 200.2 innings. He owned a 3.50 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. They each threw 200+ strikeouts in 2022. However, they didn’t lead in innings pitched. In the 2022 season, Sandy Alcantara led the majors with 228.2 innings and he used 3248 pitches. Alcantara won the 2022 NL Cy Young award. He finished the season with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.

 

In the 2023 season, Gerrit Cole threw 3281 pitches, leading the majors. He made 33 starts, posting a 2.63 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP over 209 innings. But Cole didn’t lead in innings pitched in 2023. Logan Webb and Zac Gallen each threw 210+ innings in 2023. Logan Webb used 3182 pitches to complete 216 innings and Gallen threw 210 innings with 3248 pitches. Furthermore, Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo each threw 3200+ pitches in 2023.

 

In addition, in 2024, Logan Webb was the only pitcher who used at least 3200 pitches. Webb threw 3201 pitches, posting a 3.47 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over 204.2 innings. In that season, only 2 pitchers tossed more innings than Webb did. Logan Gilbert threw 208.2 innings with 3042 pitches and Seth Lugo tossed 206.2 innings with 3112 pitches.

 

Finally, last year, Logan Webb threw 3282 pitches to complete 207 innings. He owned a 3.22 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Carlos Rodon threw 3200+ pitches as well. Rodon tossed 195.1 innings with 3212 pitches. Rodon had a 3.09 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP last season.

 

Looking back at the last 5 seasons, as we can see, there aren’t many pitchers who reached 3200 pitches in a single season. Logan Webb looks quite durable as he threw 3200+ pitches in each of the last 2 seasons. Gerrit Cole didn’t pitch in 2025 because of undergoing Tommy John surgery. Nonetheless, he was dominant and durable in 2022 and 2023. In particular, he won the 2023 AL Cy Young award. The 2026 season has already begun. We can keep watching if Logan Webb will still throw a lot of pitches and pitch consistently in 2026. Moreover, how many pitchers will reach 3200 pitches in 2026? Well, Gerrit Cole will not throw as many pitches as he did in 2022 and 2023. But it will be good to see him back to the mound.