Goose eggs
As pitching gradually becomes more dominant, shutouts are becoming increasingly common. In fact, three of the top seven seasons in history for number of shutouts have occurred in the past three years. And 2013, with 186 shutouts before the All-Star break for a pace that projects to 320 on the season — will make it four.
(Yes, there are more teams, and thus more games, today than in the 1960s and '70s, when offenses also waned. But the trend is still noteworthy.)
The most shutouts came in 1972, and baseball responded by adopting the designated hitter rule. The second most were in 1968, and baseball lowered the pitchers mound. Will more adjustments to the game be proposed if the trend continues?
Most shutouts by season:
357: 1971
339: 1968
328: 2010
325: 1976
