The 1968 season was called the Year of the Pitcher because pitching was so dominant that it forced the MLB Rules Committee to shrink the strike zone and lower the pitcher’s mound. And it ain’t got nothing on 2021.
As Lindsey Adler wrote at the Athletic last week, this year’s story is pitching and it’s become a borderline crisis. In 1968, batters hit .237/.299/.340 and struck out 15.8% of the time; one-quarter of the way through the 2021 season, batters are slashing .236/.313/.393 and are striking out at a rate of 24%. All the fans who quit watching because there wasn’t enough action in baseball, well they may have had a point.