For three decades beginning in the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service touted what it considered an ornamental plant to control soil erosion in the South. That plant, a vine known as kudzu, grew at the astounding rate of one foot every day. Kudzu grew out of control. It was a killer. It wiped out grasses, plants and trees by choking off their sunlight. Kudzu acquired another name: “the vine that ate the South.”
Relief pitching is baseball’s Kudzu. Its growth is overtaking the game. In the past postseason, the World Series champion Braves used relief pitchers to cover 55% of their innings and 64% of their wins—right in line with the overall rates of 55% and 62%.