As Minnesota pitchers Bert Blyleven, Joe Niekro, and Steve Carlton find themselves aging on and off the field, MPR’s Jim Bickal gets comments from physical therapist and older Major League Baseball players about how one can continue quality play on the mound.
JIM BICKAL: Joe Niekro, Steve Carlton, and Bert Blyleven have faced well over 50,000 batters over a total of 62 seasons, and between them they've won nearly 800 games. Of course, all those games and years have taken a toll on their bodies. Niekro and Carlton are 42 years old, Blyleven is 36, and all three can't throw the ball as hard as they did in their prime. Physical therapist Tom Copeland says many years of throwing and the aging process wear down a pitcher's arm.
TOM COPELAND: Our body does have a tendency to get stiffer more easily as we get older because of the aging process. The tissues of our bodies become stiffer, we start to lose some of the water content in the disks of our back. We start getting shorter as we get older because of that. And so there is a tendency towards an aging process to slow us down.
JIM BICKAL: Copeland says coordination also diminishes with age because nerve endings become less responsive. But he says the effects of aging can be postponed substantially with proper conditioning. Hall of Famer Warren Spahn pitched in the majors for 21 years and threw a no hitter when he was 40 years old. He was in town over the weekend for an old timers game. He says there's one very important thing that a pitcher needs to maintain at the end of his career.
WARREN SPAHN: Stamina, as you grow older, I think you have to work harder to keep your legs in shape, to be able to just withstand pitching nine innings and all the battle, merely the excitement of competing. And unless you have that competitive spirit, you're not going to be out there.
JIM BICKAL: Spahn says he was successful late in his career because he was able to adjust his pitching style.
WARREN SPAHN: I think that I had problems with my fastball that made me feel like I was going to have to change the way I was pitching, and I developed the screwball that helped me a great deal. I think every pitcher goes through that reclamation, you might say, and I think the people that can't find a solution are the guys that have an early exit in baseball.
JIM BICKAL: All three Twins pitchers have adjusted their styles. Niekro throws more of the slower speed knuckleballs, Blyleven has changed the way he grips his fastball, and Steve Carlton is working on a screwball. Carlton is the latest veteran pitcher to join the Twins. He's won 329 games during his career, and he's a remarkable athlete.
He stays in top physical shape with a rigorous martial arts strengthening and flexibility program, and he's known as an extremely intense competitor. California Angels catcher Bob Boone played on the Philadelphia Phillies with Carlton for 10 years. He says he's not surprised that Carlton is still pitching at age 42.
BOB BOONE: When you have what's inside of him, the stuff that made him so great, it's the fact that he knows he can get hitters out and you don't quit just because you're not fantastic anymore. I think with some adjustment, he can adjust and pitch just about any type of style he wants to do. I believe he can do anything he wants to do.
JIM BICKAL: Angels catcher Bob Boone talking about Steve Carlton, future Hall of Famer and the newest member of the Minnesota Twins. I'm Jim Bickal, reporting.
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