Quote:
Originally Posted by packs
Emotional tension and excitement is why pitching the 9th is so difficult. The game is played by people. When you say scoring 3 runs in the 4th inning to win 3 to 2 is the same as scoring 3 runs in the 9th to win 3 to 2, I think you are removing the human element, which cannot be removed from a game played by people.
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I disagree. These are professionals who play 162 games times 9 (now 7 sometimes) innings. One inning is basically the same as another. And if there is extra urgency in the final inning, that could cut either way: Make a hitter more focused to succeed or more nervous to fail, make the pitcher more likely to excel or make him more likely to choke, and same with the fielders, baserunners, and so on.
The ninth inning is the most overrated concept in baseball. If I'm a manager with a top reliever and a mediocre one, I'll bring the best one in to stop a 7th inning rally where there are 2 on with just one out, and maybe use the mediocre one to start the ninth, rather than the other way around.