Five Statistical Facts about Bob Gibson

The man who helped make 1968 known as “The Year of the Pitcher,” Bob Gibson spent all 17 of his years at the Major League level with the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s one of those pitchers often overlooked in an era when Sandy Koufax was playing for the much more popular Los Angeles Dodgers. He was more than the 1968 season and that truth is backed up by these five statistical facts.

20 Game Winner: 5 Times

Gibson reached 20 wins in a season 5 times in his career. He did it in 1965 and 1966 then again 1968-1970. He also won 19 games twice, falling just short. Ultimately Gibson would finish his career with 251 career wins.

Complete Games

As he pitched in an era when complete games were still expected, Gibson finished his career with a remarkable 255 of them. Of those 255 complete games, 56 came in the 1968 and 1969 season combined when he had 28 in each. Speaking of 56, this is how many shutouts Gibson had in his career.

Cy Young Awards: 2

Gibson managed to win the Cy Young Award twice in his career. The first was in his remarkable 1968 season and the second came in 1970 when he won a career high 23 games. The 1968 season was most noteworthy for his incredibly low ERA which was at 1.12. You can read more about that season in a previous post I made specifically about the few bad games he had during his reign of terror.

Postseason Pitching

Gibson won 2 World Series with the Cardinals and lost another. His statistics say he was certainly deserving of the championships he won. Gibson went 7-2 in the postseason, which at the time only included the World Series, with a 1.89 ERA. He started 9 games and had 8 complete games. Two of those complete games were shutouts. The first, coming in 1964 against the New York Yankees, took 10 innings for him to complete.

Batting Statistics

Remember when pitchers could swing a log? Okay that didn’t sound right. The point is Gibson was a pretty hitter by today’s standard for pitchers. Gibson may have only had a .206 batting average, but it included 24 home runs and 144 RBIs. Gibson hit 5 home runs in 1965 and 1972 for season highs. In 1963 he had 20 RBIs. His best offensive year though came in 1970 when he hit .303 with 2 home runs and 19 RBIs.

Five Statistical Facts about Bret Saberhagen

Steve Nebraska may have taken him deep on the first pitch in the movie The Scout. Don’t let this discredit what pitcher Bret Saberhagen did in his career. Spanning parts of three decades, these are five statistical facts from Saberhagen’s career.

Two Cy Young Awards

Saberhagen won the Cy Young Award twice in his career. The first came in his second big league season in 1985. The second was in 1989 when he had one of the best seasons a pitcher has had in the last 25 seasons.

1989 Season

That 1989 season was more than a simple “best pitcher” one for Saberhagen. He led the league with 23 wins, a .793 winning percentage, 2.16 ERA, 12 complete, games, 262.1 innings pitched, and a few other less popular categories. Most amazing of all might be his 193 strikeouts along with only 43 walks for a 4.49 strikeouts to walks rate. This same year Saberhagen also happened to win the lone Gold Glove of his career.

1994 Strikeout to Walk Ratio

His league leading 4.49 strikeouts to walk ratio in 1989 was nothing compared to what it was in the strike shortened 1994 season. In 177.1 innings pitched, Saberhagen struck out 143 battrs. His walk total was only 13. This comes out to 11 strikeouts for each walk.

Postseason Pitching

Saberhagen started 10 postseason games in his career and it was not too impressive of a performance. After winning the World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 1985 while going 2-0 in the World Series with 2 complete games, things went mostly downhill. Those two wins in the 1985 World Series were the only wins he would ever have in the postseason. Ultimately, he finished with a 2-4 record and a 4.67 ERA.

Striking Out Detroit Tigers

It seems members of the Detroit Tigers were the ones to strikeout the most against Saberhagen. Kirk Gibson struck out the most against him, 16 times. He’s however joined by fellow notable Tigers from the 1980s like Chet Lemon, Lance Parrish, Mickey Tettleton, and Alan Trammell. This can probably be credited to a combination of the Tigers being in the same division as the Royals and the Tigers holding onto players a little too long.

2015 MLB Predictions: Jordan Zimmermann Wins the National League Cy Young Award

Ready for another groundbreaking and controversial prediction? Too bad because this isn’t too outlandish.

The addition of Max Scherzer this offseason has given the Washington Nationals everything they could ask for in terms of competing for a title. They already had a near-perfect team with one of baseball’s best starting rotations. In that rotation is the guy who I think will win the National League Cy Young Award, Jordan Zimmermann.

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In 2013, Zimmermann had a breakout season. He won 19 games for the Nationals and finished 7th in the Cy Young Award voting. The next season he won 14 games, but with an ERA that dipped down to 2.66. He would finish 5th in the Cy Young Award voting this time around and has pushed himself up into a new echelon of starting pitchers.

There’s marked improved from Zimmermann from these two All-Star seasons. His strikeouts were up in 2014 and in spite of fewer wins he was a much more accomplished pitcher.

Zimmermann enters the 2015 season holding the strap for the last guy to pitch a no-hitter. He did so on the final game of the regular season. This momentum may not necessarily carry over however there’s no reason to dismiss the idea completely.

The reason I think Zimmermann has an advantage over anyone is the staff around him. Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg possibly pitching in front of him, there’s a weaker chance Zimmermann has to face opponents’ aces. Wins aren’t everything for Cy Young Award voting, but it certainly helps and could get Zimmermann over the hump.

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What’s this have to do with Pedro Martinez?

Although Pedro Martinez never pitched for the Washington Nationals, he did spend some time with the squad they used to be: the Montreal Expos. Martinez won the Cy Young in 1997 for them which just happened to be the only in franchise history.

Since moving to Washington, no man has dared capture the honor. That is of course until 2015 when Zimmermann bests the second place finisher, Clayton Kershaw. This is what I envision happening.

I predict big things for the Nationals and specifically Zimmermann in the coming season. He’ll earn this honor with a very low ERA and plenty of wins to justify calling him the best pitcher in the league for the 2015 season.

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Joe Kelly Thinks He’ll Win the 2015 Cy Young

What’s the difference between being confident and being cocky?

In writing, it can be tough to distinguish which is why I’m not so sure if Boston Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly is getting a little too ahead of himself or just building up some more faith in his abilities.

Apparently, Kelly thinks his 21-16 career record and 3.41 ERA will translate into a Cy Young Award in 2015. A boisterous claim, Kelly claims he’s about to win the award in his first full season with the Red Sox.

“Yeah, I’m going to win this year,” the pitcher said when asked about his Cy Young prediction. “That’s what I told the radio guys. They didn’t believe me — [stinks] to be them.”

Kelly is probably not at the top of many lists of finalists to win the Cy Young in this or any year. In three seasons he hasn’t shown us any reason to believe otherwise. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up as a relief pitcher or spot-starter within the next two seasons. He has a frighteningly low number of strikeouts per 9 and I just don’t see him getting enough lucky breaks at Fenway Park.

Most likely, Kelly doesn’t really believe in his heart that he’ll jump ahead of Felix Hernandez, Chris Sale, or reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. He’s not even the best pitcher on his team, an honor that goes to…well it could go to Kelly by the end of 2015. The Red Sox are full of question marks in their rotation that realistically Kelly could stand out.

One step at a time, Mr. Kelly. Let’s concentrate on getting 20 starts in a season before declaring you’re the best in the league.

The Very Best of Randy Johnson’s Career

Randy Johnson’s six best seasons in illustrious career

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Five Statistical Facts about Pedro Martinez

A proper introduction for Pedro Martinez is difficult. Dominant throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, he was so good we often didn’t even acknowledge him by his last name. He was just Pedro to us. There’s a lot of statistics you should know about him and to start you off, here are five of them.

League Leader

Oh boy! Where to start with the categories Martinez was a league leader in? I’ll try to make this as simple as possible. He led the league in wins once, winning percentage three times, ERA five times, complete games once, shutouts once, strikeouts three times, and WHIP six times. There were other more Bill James-esque statistics he led in, but like I said I wanted to keep this as simple as I could.

ERA Below 2.00

Twice Martinez finished the season with an ERA below 2.00. He did this in 1997 while with the Montreal Expos and again in 2000 when he was with the Boston Red Sox. In that 1997 season, he also had a league leading 13 complete games. In 2000, he had a league leading 4 shutouts.

Home Runs Allowed

Hitting a home run off of Martinez proved to be difficult. For instance, in 2003 he only allowed 0.3 home runs per 9 innings, 7 total in the 186.2 innings he pitched. His career totals came out to 0.8 home runs per 9 innings.

Postseason Pitching

Surprisingly, Martinez was an overwhelming average postseason pitcher. In 16 postseason games, 14 starts, Martinez was 6-4 with a 3.46 ERA. His numbers would have been a bit better if not for his stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 when in the World Series he was 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA when facing against the rival New York Yankees.

Cy Young Awards

How could you ever ignore the Cy Young Award when discussing Pedro? His career ended with him winning it three times and finishing second in the voting twice. Imagine how much more elite Martinez would have looked if he had five Cy Young Awards instead of a still amazing three.

Five Statistical Facts about John Smoltz

Sometimes lost behind teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, pitcher John Smoltz completed the trifecta in the Atlanta Braves’ rotation throughout the 1990s. He also happened to stay there the longest so if you ask a lot of people in Atlanta, he might be the favorite. Love him because he pitched for your team or hate him because he pitched against the ones you do root for, these are five statistical facts about Smoltz.

Wins

A bit underwhelming, Smoltz finished his career with 213 career wins. This is a number worthy of praise, however, far short of what makes a Hall of Famer. Keep in mind Smoltz did miss all of 2000 and came back as a closer for four seasons. Winning 213 games, including leading the league twice, makes this something to be proud of.

Saves

Smoltz spent about three and a half years as the Braves’ closer beginning in 2001. In 2002, he led the league with 5 saves. The following year he only had 45, but with a 1.12 ERA. Few pitchers can say they won over 200 games and had over 150 saves. Smoltz is one of them.

By U.S.Air Force photo/Don Peek [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1996 National League Cy Young Award

Competing mostly against his teammates, Smoltz only managed to win the Cy Young Award once. He did so in 1996 when he went 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA. He also led the league with 276 strikeouts.

Postseason Pitching

Although the Braves only won one World Series during their reign in the National League, Smoltz was doing all he could to help them succeed in the postseason. In 41 games, 27 starts, Smoltz was 15-4 with a 2.67 ERA. In the NLDS alone he was undefeated with a 7-0 record. Of the individual achievements available, one Smoltz did take him was the 1992 NLCS MVP.

Strikeouts

When Glavine and Maddux were more about finesse, Smoltz was overpowering hitters. Fully capable of getting big strikeouts, Smoltz ranks 16th on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,084 of them. Twice he led the league in this category and five times he reached 200 in a season.

Five Statistical Facts about Randy Johnson

“The Big Unit” Randy Johnson was one of the most frightening pitchers during his time on a big league roster. Not only was his tall stature able to scare off a few hitters, his slider could too. Johnson put together a Hall of Fame career over 22 seasons with lots of statistics worth knowing. Here are five of them.

League Leader

Here’s a breakdown of some of the statistics Johnson was a league leader in throughout his career:

Wins: 1 time
Winning Percentage: 4 times
ERA: 4 times
Complete Games: 4 times
Innings Pitched: 2 times
Strikeouts: 9 times

More on some of these in a moment.

Strikeouts

When discussing Johnson, strikeouts is a big part of what he did. Ranking second to only Nolan Ryan in career strikeouts, Johnson had several seasons where he put up monster numbers in this category. In 14 of his 22 major league seasons, Johnson reached 200 strikeouts. Far more impressive, Johnson reached 300 strikeouts 5 times.

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Learning about Control

Early on in his career Johnson was a lot wilder than he was during his prime. In 1990, 1991, and 1992 he led the league in walks with 120, 152, and 144. The next year he walked 99 and apparently because of this realized 100 walks in a season was not required. He settled down significantly and was able to find his control.

Cy Young Awards

Five times Johnson was awarded the Cy Young. No that’s not a typo or me reading it wrong. I have double-checked. Johnson won the Cy Young Award in 1995 with the Seattle Mariners then again in four consecutive seasons from 1999-2002 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Johnson also happened to finish second in the voting three additional times. Now, pick up your jaw.

Postseason Pitching

With the exception of the 2001 postseason, pitching in the playoffs was not Johnson’s specialty. In 19 games, 16 starts, he was 7-9 with a 3.50 ERA. In 2001 though, he was 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA in the NLDS, 1.13 ERA in the NLCS, and 1.04 ERA in the World Series. He also had two shutouts.

Five Statistical Facts about Jerry Reuss

I find when writing, talking, and arguing sports I use the word “underrated” very often. For a pitcher like Jerry Reuss it’s an entirely fair word to bring up. When I met him at a charity baseball game about a decade ago I had never even heard of him. It takes one look at his statistics to quickly realize he was a pretty good pitcher. Here are five statistical facts I learned about the definition of underrated.

Career Wins: 220

There’s no real milestone for wins that very many pitchers actually get to these days. If I had to say anything, 200 is pretty impressive. Reuss did reach that mark, going as far was winning 220 games in his 22 year career. His .535 winning percentage could have been better however it’s hard to hold it against him when he managed to still hold down a really low ERA for about a decade and a half without ever getting the credit.

Almost a Cy Young Winner

In 1980 Reuss was 18-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 6 shutouts. In spite of having very similar numbers in 1975, this was the only year Reuss came close to winning the Cy Young Award. Reuss finished second to Steve Carlton who was 24-9 with a 2.34 ERA. With numbers like that there was no reason for Reuss to complain.

Pitching to Contact

Reuss was not a guy who struck out many batters. His career high was in 1973 when he struck out 177 batters. That same season he set a career high in walks with 117. Eventually Reuss would work into having a better strikeout to walk ratio. His worst may have been in 1974 when he walked 101 and had 105 strikeouts. Somehow Reuss was still 16-11 with a 3.50 ERA.

Awful Postseason Record

When the playoffs came around Reuss was very inconsistent. He had his good starts and his really bad ones. One thing he did manage to always do was lose. In 11 postseason starts Reuss had a 2-8 record. You might think his ERA would have been ridiculously high however it was still a very respectable 3.59.

Against Pete Rose: The Hit King

The batter Reuss faced more than any other was Pete Rose. These two stared each other down from mound to home plate 136 times. In all of those plate appearance Rose only built up a .250 batting average. Rose’s teammate on the Philadelphia Phillies, Mike Schmidt, did a bit better. In 115 plate appearances Schmidt hit .411 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs off of Reuss. For Reuss, Philadelphia was a very scary place.

The Detroit Tigers Lost in the Baseball Jungle

It’s rare we see the best pitcher in baseball and the best position player on the same team. For the Detroit Tigers, this was the case for a short period of time.

Justin Verlander won the 2011 Cy Young Award and American League MVP. He was baseball’s best pitcher and as the award went to him, technically the best overall player.

By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Justin Verlander”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

The following season he didn’t repeat either honor, although he did have another great season. Instead the AL MVP went to Miguel Cabrera who happened to win the Triple Crown by leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average. Cabrera repeated the MVP honors again in 2013 sans Triple Crown.

The 2013 season also had another member of the Tigers win the Cy Young Award. This time instead of going to Verlander it went to a well-deserved Max Scherzer.

Most recently in 2014, the Tigers were for the first time since 2010 without an MVP/Cy Young Award winner. However, if not for Mike Trout the MVP Award would have probably gone to Victor Martinez who put together a monster season.

All of the domination and awards given to individual players, the Tigers are only 4-4 in playoff series since this streak began in 2011. They have appeared in only one World Series where they were swept by the San Francisco Giants.

Now, during the purgatory time between the 2014 and 2015 season when teams try to build toward the future, the Tigers look a little lost in the baseball jungle.

Yes the Tigers still have Verlander, Cabrera, and Martinez. Verlander is also coming off a pretty bad season. To compliment him though, they do have David Price. You could then counter that with the loss of Scherzer to free agency. And then there are trade rumors about sending Rick Porcello elsewhere. And the loss of reliable veteran outfielder Torii Hunter.And there’s the lack of a true third baseman and shortstop. And mostly unknowns in the outfielder who may be better suited in a platoon situation. And a bullpen with more question marks than The Riddler’s tight green villain-spandex.

The point is–I’m having my doubts that the Tigers are better than they were last year and that didn’t end so well. The way things are going so far this offseason, the organization may need to take a step back. The American League Central is not as easy to win anymore.

Coming off a World Series appearance, you better believe the Kansas City Royals want to get better and will do something to accomplish this. The Chicago White Sox may have been at the bottom of baseball last year, but their lineup is strong and one more starting pitcher could help them leap into contention. You also shouldn’t count out the Cleveland Indians. They have reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in the rotation and are already attempting to build a better lineup to help the current roster out.

Things are not looking good for the Tigers. They have experimented greatly in many ways and nothing has gotten them over the hump. Unable to win in 2013 with a rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Doug Fister, and Anibal Sanchez with one of baseball’s best lineups to help them out–I have my doubts that this current team has any chance of proving me wrong.