Six man pitching rotation for Red Sox?

To my knowledge, outside of unusual occurrences such a multiple double-headers for rain-out make-up games, there has never been a regular six-man pitching rotation in Major League Baseball.

But the World Series Champions are considering such a move, after veteran Curt Schilling agreed to a one year contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Here's what Bosox general manager Theo Epstein has to say about it:

We've discussed that concept. I think it's premature to commit to any usage pattern. But certainly, we're in a little bit of a unique situation where a number of our starters might benefit from something like that.

Until the out-of-nowhere success of the 1969 New York Mets, which used a five-man rotation, four-man starting pitching staffs were the norm, which is how Denny McLain was able to win 31 games in the year before for the Detroit Tigers. Even with a four-man rotation that was an amazing feat, but it's safe to say that McLain will probably be the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season.

That achievement hasn't kept the troubled Chicago native out of trouble with the law, but that's another story for another time.

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