Orioles ace Corbin Burnes joined Glenn Clark Radio on Aug. 21 to discuss his “Uncork for a Cause” charity event, but he also hung around to talk about the most recent news items that have hit the baseball landscape, including automated balls and strikes, the reported six-inning proposal and more.
Automated Balls And Strikes
Burnes was seen voicing his opinion about umpire John Tumpane’s strike zone during the Orioles’ 4-3 loss to the Mets on Aug. 19:
Fans have wondered in recent years whether an automated ball-strike system, or at least a challenge system, is coming to the big leagues. Both approaches have been tested in the minor leagues, and it appears a challenge system could be coming to the big leagues by 2026.
Burnes likes the idea of a challenge system that keeps calls in the hands of umpires but corrects egregious, game-changing mistakes. (In the Triple-A International League, teams get two unsuccessful challenges per game.)
“I’m one of the guys in the game that I love the human element of the umpires behind the plate,” Burnes said. “I respect those guys more than anyone on the field because I think it’s the toughest job. … They have a very tough job and I think most of the time they do a great job. Obviously a lot of the stuff you see on TV with the box and stuff are incorrect, but these guys go in and when they’re done after the game they’re getting every strike call that they either made or they missed. They’re learning from it as well, just as we’re on the mound learning from the mistakes that we’re making.”
Six-Inning Proposal
ESPN recently reported that MLB is considering a rule change that would require starting pitchers to throw six innings unless they throw 100 pitches, allow four or more earned runs or get hurt.
The league wants to bring back the prominence of the starting pitchers, which has dwindled in the past couple of decades due to a variety of factors. Starters tend to be less effective the third time through the order. Starters are exerting themselves to throw harder than ever, making it less likely they can go deep in the game. And all the velocity in a major league bullpen makes it easy for a manager to give a starter a quick hook.
Burnes has thrown more than 700 innings the past four seasons, seemingly one of the few starters who works deep into games every time out. He’s open to a rule that brings back the importance of the starting pitcher, if it can be done safely.
“With all this analytics and stuff nowadays, it’s two times through the order and you stack your bullpen and you get to the ninth inning,” Burnes said. “… Obviously a lot of the rules I saw forcing a guy to pitch six innings immediately to me brings injury concerns in. We’ve got enough injuries in the game as it is, especially with starting pitching. I think you start forcing guys to get to pitch counts or innings marks or whatever it is that makes them feel uncomfortable I think we’re going to get an even bigger spike in injuries. So I think that’s where my hesitation is. If there’s a way to safely do it to get starting pitchers to go deeper into games, then I’m all for it.”
Max-Effort Pitching
Generally speaking, the harder pitchers throw the better chance they have of getting hitters out. However, that leads to more injuries among pitchers, and as such, pitchers are landing on the shelf for the very thing that makes them most effective.
It’s a paradox that baseball is struggling to grapple with. Watch a game from years ago and it’ll look like the starter is simply playing catch with his catcher. Those days are long gone, but there’s a reason why pitchers try to throw as hard as they can, according to Burnes.
“I think that’s a lot of the reason why you see guys getting hurt is the max effort for long periods of time, but there’s a reason why they’re doing that,” Burnes said. “Their stuff is better that way. If they’re an 80, 85 percent type of guy [in terms of] effort level, maybe they’re not near as good. Maybe they have a tough time staying in the league. It’s tough to tell a guy he can’t go out and throw max effort if it then doesn’t keep him in the big leagues. … You have to imagine that’s what the guys are going to continue to do if it means keeping their jobs and staying in the big leagues.”
Baseball In The Olympics
Baseball and softball are returning to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. Superstars Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani have made it clear they’d love to play for their country in the Olympics, but big league participation would require the season to be paused. That creates a slew of challenges, but influential voices are calling for MLB to figure it out.
Burnes is another player who is intrigued by the possibility of competing in the Olympics.
“To have the opportunity to wear USA across your chest would be really cool, but logistically I don’t know how it would work,” Burnes said. “… I don’t know what the logistics of it would be. It brings in the extra innings you would throw in the middle of the season. How would teams view that? Obviously, the Olympics aren’t until 2028, so we’ve got a couple years to figure out if that’s something we want to do. But yeah, I definitely think there are some logistical hurdles you’ve got to get over before you commit to anything.”
For more from Burnes, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox