Jon Smoltz Slams Analytics' Effects On Starting Pitching On 'Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich'

In case you were wondering, MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz is not a fan of how analytics in baseball have affected starting pitching in the league.

On an episode of "Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich," the World Series champion and "Fox MLB" commentator discussed how much the element of starting pitching has evolved since he retired after the 2009 season. I say "evolved" with a negative connotation, since Smoltz largely believes nothing good has come from the analytics philosophy.

Namely, he noted how analytics has degraded the value of starting pitchers that could regularly pitch 7-8 innings per start.

"This is what analytics tried to do and successfully did 10 years ago, this is what they wanted. They thought this would be cost effective for the clubs, so they didn’t have to pay their front-line starters the kind of money that was being demanded," Smoltz said. "We’ve lost the supply (of starting pitching)."

Furthermore, Smoltz drew a correlation between the effects of the analytical framework and the rise in injuries amongst starters. Since pitchers are asked to pitch as hard as they can all the time (a byproduct of analytics), multiple starters need Tommy John surgery to repair their worn-out arms.

Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame Inductee John Smoltz makes his acceptance speech during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Clark Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

This was a concern that Smoltz had been worried about for a long time.

"I wouldn't say a word if injuries were getting better in this philosophy of analytics towards pitching they are getting worse. That's why they don't talk about it," Smoltz said of the MLB. "We’ve been screaming at the mountain tops for years about these players' careers getting shortened, and they don’t frankly care because they’re just going to get another Paul Skenes in their mind."

"We’re brainwashed to think 100 pitches and a guy breaks. Everything we’re doing is opposite (to having a) successful long term (career)," he continued. "We limit, we baby, we don’t let them do the things they’re naturally gifted at. We’ve turned them into robots and we’ve asked them to just go as fast and as hard as they can. There is nothing wrong with pitching at 97 mph if you have the capacity to pitch at 101 mph, there’s nothing wrong with having a 3.40 ERA if it gives you 230 innings…We have to prepare these guys differently and ask them to do things that are more long term than short term."

The MLB probably doesn’t care all that much as long as they can find a replacement for the guys that get hurt. But if they want to bring lasting change for good for starters, they will listen to Smoltz’s advice.