Bold new rules have reshaped baseball. Could more changes save starting pitching?

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Bold decisions to change Major League Baseball’s longstanding rules quickened the pace of games and revived the popularity of stealing bases over the last few years.

A similarly creative move may be needed to help starting pitching regain the relevance it enjoyed as recently as a decade ago.

Only four pitchers (Seattle’s Logan Gilbert, Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, San Francisco’s Logan Webb and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler) threw as many as 200 innings last season, down from 34 in 2014.

During that same 2014 season, all 30 major league teams got over 900 innings from their starting pitchers and five had over 1,000. Last year, only four teams had their starters pitch at least 900 innings, led by Seattle with 942 2/3.

While this shift has been years in the making, the numbers themselves provide a cold slap of reality to longtime fans who remember seeing Bob Gibson throw three complete games in the 1967 World Series or Jack Morris pitching 10 shutout innings in Game 7 of the 1991 Fall Classic.

Going back to the days of Cy Young and Walter Johnson, part of the game's beauty was watching a pitcher work his way through a lineup three or four times.

With every team having multiple relievers who can come out of the bullpen and throw in the high 90s, what could prompt teams to let their starters work deeper into games?

Managers and players struggle to come up with a solution.

“Outside of just changing rules to incentivize managers to keep guys in games longer,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Roberts’ Dodgers exemplified the bullpen emphasis during their run to the 2024 World Series title. Their starting pitchers worked as many as six innings in just two of their 16 postseason games.

Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi went 5-0 with five postseason quality starts (defined as going at least six innings while allowing no more than three earned runs) a year earlier while helping the Rangers win their first World Series championship. Yet even he understands how much things have changed for starting pitchers since he made his big-league debut in 2011.

“Bullpens are a lot different now than they were back then,” Eovaldi said. “You’ve got a lot more guys who aren’t just eight- and ninth-inning guys. They can come in, in the sixth or seventh, go multiple innings. They all have multiple pitches now as well. I think that’s one of the fascinating things about the bullpen. You don’t have guys who are just a two-pitch mix anymore. They’ve got three or four pitches coming out, and two of them are really, really elite.”

And that’s why there seems only one way to get starters working more innings.

“Putting in rules that you have to,” San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ve created our own monster. It is what it is.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says it’s too early to explore rules changes.

“Our focus right now is training methods, particularly offseason training methods,” Manfred said. “It’s going to be somewhere between education and recommendations. It’s very hard to tell people you can’t do X, Y and Z, right? They’re grown men and there’s no way to monitor it during the offseason.”

One problem is the lack of a clear consensus on what rule changes could work best.

For instance, MLB had the Atlantic League experiment in 2021 and 2023 with a rule change that would force a team to lose its designated hitter if its starting pitcher didn’t finish at least five innings.

Instituting that kind of rule could be a tough sell in the majors, where some of the league’s most bankable stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper have received ample playing time at DH the last few years. Fans paying to see those stars likely wouldn’t be happy to see them get removed as collateral damage from an early pitching change.

MLB hasn’t announced any similar types of rules experimentations in the minors this season.

The maximum number of pitchers allowed on MLB rosters was lowered from 14 to 13 in 2022, though that limit rises to 14 when rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1. A more extreme rule change would be to require starters to work at least five or six innings unless they get injured, throw a certain number of pitches or allow a particular number of runs.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he wouldn’t mind seeing the minor leagues try out more rule changes designed at lengthening starting pitchers. He wants those pitching prospects to get accustomed to working deeper into games.

“That’s the way it used to be with starters,” Bochy said. “Now I think the mentality can be, ‘Hey, I’ve done my job. I’ve thrown four or five innings.’ “

Giants pitcher Robbie Ray says the history of the game shows that starters can adapt to longer outings.

“I think starting pitchers are capable of doing it,” said Ray, who won the 2021 AL Cy Young Award with Toronto. “It’s just a matter of kind of training our bodies to do that again because what’s been expected of us has changed over the years.”

A 62-page MLB study released in December showed how the focus on rising velocities and maximum effort on each pitch had resulted in more injuries among pitchers. That study also revealed that starts of five or more innings dropped from 84% to 70% in the majors from 2005-24 and from 68.9% to 36.8% in the minors.

“Because we’re trying to create this engine and this repetitive thought of just pure stuff each and every pitch, yeah, starters are going to fatigue sooner,” Cleveland Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said. “And at the same time, we’re training them that way. We’re training them to do so.

“Everybody still talks about wanting to go out for the sixth, wanting to go out for the seventh and getting deep into games. I don’t know that we’re training them to do that, and I don’t know how we are kind of teaching nowadays can allow that to happen.”

A change in approach could allow those starters to get that endurance. Right now, it’s the older guys who seem more used to that workload.

The MLB leader in quality starts last season was the 34-year-old Wheeler, who had 26. Lugo, 35, had 22 quality starts to tie for second place.

Even so, the 2024 season did offer some encouraging signs for the future of starting pitching.

MLB pitchers threw 5.22 innings per start last season. That represented the most since 2018, though it was still far off the 2014 average of 5.97.

The 2024 season also featured an MLB average of 85.5 pitches per start, the highest since 2019. Starters haven’t thrown as many as 90 pitches per appearance since 2017.

Perhaps it’s inevitable that the pendulum swing at least a little more toward getting starters to work longer. The recent focus on relievers puts more pressure on them, causing bullpens to break down.

There’s one obvious method to change that.

“I don’t think necessarily the game is going to all of a sudden turn back the other way, but there’s a huge push to understand how you can keep a bullpen healthy,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “And one of the biggest ways is those starters getting through that first bulk and getting you into the sixth or seventh.”

Now it’s just a matter of figuring out how those starters can pitch deeper into games more often.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy pauses in the dugout during the second inning of a spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray wraps his pitching arm in the dugout during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray throws against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts walks on to the field during team introductions before an MLB Tokyo Series baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning of a spring training baseball game, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black (10) takes the ball from starting pitcher Germán Márquez (48) during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

BOSTON (AP) — Alysa Liu rarely wavers when it comes to anything, whether it be her abrupt decision to retire after the 2022 Winter Olympics, or the American figure skater's similarly stunning decision to announce her comeback early last year.

So when the 19-year-old was pondering what to do for her entrance Wednesday night, when Liu's name was announced for the warm-up to her short program at the world championships, she found herself in a rare situation: She was indecisive.

“Then I saw there was a lot of space," Liu said, "and I thought, ‘What a great place to do a cartwheel!’”

So she cartwheeled, right there on the carpet leading to the ice. And Liu landed it perfectly, just like everything in her program. The result was her international-best of 74.58 points, putting Liu ahead of Mone Chiba of Japan and American teammate Isabeau Levito — in the midst of her own comeback from an injury — going into Friday night's free skate.

Liu and Levito will be trying to become the first U.S. women's world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

“Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right. I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire a little bit,” said Liu, who was simply burnt out when she stepped away, the sport feeling less like a joy and more like a job back then.

“People would tell me not to make the decisions I made,” she added, "but I'm really glad. I have good intuition, I think.”

Chiba scored 73.44 points and Levito scored 73.33. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was fifth with 71.03 points as she tries to become the first to win four consecutive titles since Carol Heiss in the 1950s and '60s. Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn, who was among the favorites in Boston, fell on her opening triple axel and was ninth with 67.65.

“Just going to have to rely on my training," Glenn said, when asked about bouncing back Friday night.

In the pairs short program Wednesday night, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took a big step toward regaining the title they lost a year ago with their energetic program to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. The Japanese skaters earned 76.57 points to land in first place ahead of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macci, the surprising Italians, who scored 74.61.

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany were third, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia fourth, and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the U.S. were within range of the podium in fifth place.

The biggest surprise was defending champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada. They earned negative grades of execution for their twist, throw triple loop and side-by-side spin, leaving them in seventh with 67.32 points.

The men’s competition and ice dance begin Thursday. All of the medals will be decided by Saturday night.

The worlds are being hosted by the renowned Skating Club of Boston, which had six members killed nearly two months ago, when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. Skaters from the world over said this week that they hoped their performances could be a cathartic experience for a tight-knit community still grieving.

“The kids we lost — across the country — were the future of the sport,” said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the club, which produced such champions as Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan. “So it’s really nice to see this being acknowledged.”

The final worlds before the Milano-Cortina Olympics are also important for establishing the quotas for the Winter Games. The number of entries for each nation will be decided by how its best skaters finish in each discipline this week.

In that respect, the American women are in good shape after Wednesday night.

Not only do they have Liu in first place, they have Levito — the reigning silver medalist — holding down a podium spot in her first competition since Skate America in October. The 18-year-old has been dealing ever since with a lingering foot injury.

While Liu scored big points for her triple flip-triple toe and her triple lutz, Levito piled up the points not only by landing all of her jumps but getting her typical high marks for composition, presentation and skating skills.

“I think that was the best score I could have had today,” Levito said. “Everything I went through and everything that I missed this year, I was very happy to have kept it all together.”

If the Americans want to hold down their podium spots, they will have to outscore the Japanese in the free skate.

Chiba, a former Four Continents champion, pumped her fist after a short program that earned her a standing ovation. Wakaba Higuchi was behind Levito in fourth, while Sakamoto was fifth, despite doubling a planned triple flip in her combination.

“We'll just have to see Friday if any of us win or not,” Liu said.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Fans cheer for Amber Glenn of the United States as she performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Amber Glenn of the United States performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Isabeau Levito of the United States performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Mone Chiba of Japan performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Alysa Liu of the United States performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Alysa Liu of the United States performs during the women's short program at the figure skating world championships, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)