Jp24,
I've studied baseball history extensively and even as far back as the early 1900's, Connie Mack who managed the A's for 50 years stated that baseball was 75% pitching, so nothing is new in that regard.
If one studies baseball history, it seems that there are cycles that last up to a decade sometimes of pitching dominance or vice versa. There are also multi year cycles where things are pretty balanced. After the barrage of hitting due to a combination of PED's, small parks, team expansion, overall poor pitching and a group of great hitters, ML baseball has cycled the other way with some hitter negative parks in San Diego, San Francisco, New York(Mets), and Seattle as well as the balls not being as lively in Colorado due to being kept in humidors.
A tremendous crop of young pitching as well as hitters who try to do nothing but hit the long ball and strike out 140 to 220 times a season, even the leadoff batters, as well as the new defensive shifts and new emphasis on defensive value as well as the umpires shift to calling the lower strikes has all sparked this new cycle of dominant pitching.
Threebagger - I like your answer as I was thinking the same. This game has always been about adjustments. The best way to counter the pitching era we are in is to value contact hitters with speed and hitters that force the pitchers to throw many pitches. That will be the next wave of talent that comes through MLB as teams adjust to the greater velocities and defensive shifts.
The same can be said for the business side of baseball. The economics will most always favor the pitcher because you have to have them to play the game. Whether or not the organization wants to pay them what they are worth is another matter entirely. But the game is tilted to the pitchers no matter what baseball adjustments are being made on the field because they are essential to success. Every World Series winner will have seperated themselves from the others based on pitching. Successful college and pro organizations re-tools themselves based pitching. So, if I'm a great hitter but have a chance to make more "scratch" as a pitcher (college or pro) then I'm going where the money is...on the mound. It makes sense to me.