Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryomaniac
Just from what I've read (I haven't studied it a great deal,if at all) in the 19th century teams should have one starter, one spot starter and maybe 1 or 2 relievers (one of whom is probably an OF who can pitch).
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LGO will probably be by shortly to straighten us out on this, but as a very rough rule of thumb, that's true for the 1870s. By the time the American Association is formed you should probably add a starter, and by the time it folds one more.
A really great book on this topic is "The Great Encyclopedia of 19th Century Major League Baseball" by David Nemec. It has more facts, figures and statistics than articles. I'll just list the number of starters for teams in 1882 and 1892, Both are in order of team's finish.
1882 (you may feel this supports your position):
Chicago (2) 45 and 39 {3 total pitchers/1 relief appearance/1 reliever}
Providence (2) 52 and 32 starts {2 pitchers/6/2 relievers}
Boston (3) 48, 32 and 5 {4 pitchers/4/3 relievers}
Buffalo (4) 51, 29, 3 and 1 {5 pitchers/5/3 relievers}
Cleveland (3) 67, 16 and 1 (67 led the NL) {3 pitchers/3/2 relievers}
Detroit (3) 45, 39 and 2 {4 pitchrs/4/4 relievers}
Troy (3) 42, 33 and 10 {4 pitchers/4/3 relieves}
Worcester (6) 46, 18, 14, 3, 2 and 1 {6 pitchers/9?[there's a typo, so I'm extrapolating]/2? relievers}
National League Total (26 for 8 teams) {31 pitchers/36?/20? relievers} 15 both started and relieved, 5 relieved only, 11 started only
Cincinnati (3) 54, 25 and 1 {3 pitchers/3/1 reliever}
Philadelphia (7) 41, 20, 8, 2, 2, 1 and 1 {8 pitchers/3/2 relievers}
Louisville (5) 55, 11, 10, 2 and 1 (55 led the AA) {6 pitchers/7/4 relievers}
Pittsburgh (6) 38, 23, 14, 2, 1 and 1 {7 pitchers/2/2 relievers}
St. Louis (9) 45, 14, 8, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 and 1 {10 pitchers/5/4 relievers}
Baltimore (7) 39, 13, 13, 3, 3, 2 and 1 {8 pitchers/12/4 relievers}
American Association Total (37 for 6 teams) {42 pitchers/32/17 relievers} 12 both started and relieved, 5 relieved only, 25 started only
1892:
Boston (6) 51, 48, 35, 16, 1 and 1 {7 pitchers/11/4 relievers}
Cleveland (7) 49, 42, 28, 26, 5, 1 and 1 {7 pitchers/12/5 relievers}
Brooklyn (6) 44, 42, 23, 21, 20 and 8 {6 pitchers/28/6 relievers}
Philadelphia (7) 49, 38, 36, 18, 9, 3 and 2 {7 pitchers/24/6 relievers}
Cincinnati (12) 49, 34, 27, 16, 10, 7, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1 and 1 {15 pitchers/29/10 relievers}
Pittsburgh (10) 53, 36, 26, 13, 12, 4, 3, 3, 1 and 1 {11 pitchers/28/9 relievers}
Chicago (6) 71, 45, 26, 2, 1 and 1 {7 pitchers/13/5 relievers}
New York (4) 62, 47, 43 and 1 {5 pitchers/12/4 relievers}
Louisville (9) 40, 31, 24, 18, 16, 15, 4, 4 and 2 {10 pitchers/7/5 relievers}
Washington (11) 52, 23, 21, 15, 14, 7, 7, 4, 4, 3 and 3 {11 pitchers/27?[extrapolation]/8 relievers}
St. Louis (9) 45, 32, 20, 13, 12, 11, 10, 10 and 2 {10 pitchers/22/6 relievers}
Baltimore (13) 47, 46, 21, 13, 8, 6, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 and 1 {14 pitchers/23/10 relievers}
League Association Total (100 for 12 teams) {110 pitchers/236/78 relievers} 68 both started and relieved, 10 relieved only, 32 started only
Based on that very small sample, it looks to me like the American Association led the way to larger staffs. Also note that in 1892 the teams are playing close to 150 games, whilst in 1882 the NL clubs were scheduled for 84 games, and the AA clubs played 73-80. As the seasons lengthened, the number of pitchers needed did as well. Someone with more mathematical savvy than I have could determine which percentage of games were started by the number one starter, number two, etc.