Apropos, The Athletic polled active baseball players and among other things, asked them what their biggest complaints are about what former players are saying about today's game.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/552996 ... anization/7. What is the most irritating criticism of the current game coming from former players?
We let players answer this question however they saw fit, and they gave us a variety of wide-ranging responses. Eight-two responses, in fact. Most touched on one of three topics they were most tired of hearing about from former players.
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Overlooking the current game’s degree of difficulty
“You have to understand that players today are so damn good. … The length of the lineups and the length of pitching staffs has changed, even in the last seven, eight years.”
“The lack of respect for difference in pitching quality.”
“I feel like they’re too far removed to understand how hard this game is.”
“Just throw strikes — their strike zone was three times the size.”
“‘Too many strikeouts’ — they had three guys in the league who threw 95, and now the first guy in from the bullpen throws 100.”
“That it’s the same game. I don’t think that’s true. I think, unfortunately for us, the talent is just way better across the board. There’s not an at-bat you have off or where you’re like, ‘Finally, this guy.’ It’s always a new arm that’s just nasty — splitters, sweepers. They’re reinventing the wheel. Everyone’s throwing 97-plus now. It’s the same game but played at a much higher level.”
Toughness (or lack thereof)
“I think a lot of them say some guys don’t run hard. I think guys are a little bit better at managing their bodies (now).”
“You hear older players say that the game is a little softer. … I just think the game has changed. … They also say pitchers only care about velocity and stuff, but I don’t think that’s true. I think pitchers still are pitchers down to their core. The main focus is to get outs. We’ve just found different ways to go about (it).”
“That we complain too much. ‘Back in my day’ or ‘If we had all this stuff…'”
