"They all have a pitch count. I kind of try to limit the young guys. Typically, with young guys I go around 110. I think if they've been pitching easy I'll even go up to 115, 118."

Yesterday, I watched a game on ESPN Classic between Detroit and Toronto played on October 4, 1987. I caught the action late in the game, the 9th inning and the Tiger pitcher, Jack Morris had surpassed 160 pitches. His counterpart, Mike Flanagan, matched him and the score was tied 2-2 after nine. In the 10th, Flanagan, who earlier in the year had missed time with elbow problems, took the mound. The game remained tied. In the bottom of the 11th, Flanagan again took the mound despite the Toronto manager having his closer, Tom Henke warming up for the 4th time. Flanagan got through the 11th and was at about 150 pitches. The Toronto manager's name was Jimy Williams.

This shows me how the times have changed. It also showed me how things have stayed the same. Why? As the game went into the 12th, Flanagan was done. Apparently, so was Henke due to his throwing 60 warmup pitches. Williams was forced to go with a journeyman lefty(Musselman). Even as the Tigers loaded the bases, Henke remained in the pen. The Tigers won of course, courtesy of a Jimy mind melt.

The announcers, Bob Costas and I believe Tony Kubek, mentioned it. I don't nearly have the attention span to count each pitch.