Pitching Dominance in this (or any) Era
| 27
|
by user The shark
In the year 1920, Babe Ruth smashed 54 home runs, an unheard of accomplishment at the time. The previous single-season record was 29, a year earlier - again set by Ruth. When the lights went down on that season, baseball found itself changed forever. The live ball era had begun, and the days of overwhelming pitching dominance had ground to a halt. And with the onset of a hitter's era (one that would continue for the better part of the next 100 years) came the end of the pitcher's era. An era in which Walter Johnson, Cy Young, and Christy Mathewson (among countless others) dominated hitters from inning to inning in every game of every year for decades. Career numbers like the ones put up by these early hall of fame hurlers (511 wins, an ERA of 2.17, 749 complete games, 110 shutouts) would never be seen again.
Other developments would take place over the next several decades that further aided batsmen, making life for pitchers even more challenging (the lowering of the mound, the designated-hitter rule, the ever-shrinking ballparks, steroids). Additionally, the onset of the closer and the specialization of bullpens further limited the ability of starting pitchers to dominate hitters, games, or eras. But every once in a great while, a pitcher comes along with the talent, the determination, the attitude, and the mindset to be considered truly special - a "throwback."
In this day and age (one of the most severe hitter's eras of all times), we are lucky to have four such pitchers competing every 5 days right in front of our eyes - Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez.
When I think about pitching and what it takes to be successful in this era, 5 statistics come to mind: (1) winning percentage - the most important, perhaps, because team wins are how all champions are ultimately judged and ranked; (2) ERA - the fewer runs you allow, the more games you're likely to win; (3) WHIP and (4) batting average against - the fewer baserunners you allow, the fewer runs you're likely to allow, the more games you're likely to win; and finally, (5) strikeouts per walk - the more strikeouts you register, the less you often you allow the ball to go in play (hits, sacrifices, the possibility for errors), and the fewer men you walk, see (1-4).
Let's have a look at how 10 of the best live ball era pitchers stack up in these 5 important categories, shall we? I think you'll be surprised.
stats compiled at the beginning of the 2006 season
WINNING PERCENTAGE
(minimum 300 starts)
- Pedro Martinez - 200-84 (.704)
- Whitey Ford - 236-106 (.690)
- Roger Clemens - 341-172 (.664)
- Randy Johnson - 265-137 (.659)
- Sandy Koufax - 165-87 (.655)
- Greg Maddux - 321-189 (.629)
- Bob Feller - 266-162 (.621)
- Warren Spahn - 363-245 (.597)
- Bob Gibson - 251-174 (.591)
- Nolan Ryan - 324-292 (.526)
...and for argument's sake...
- Cy Young - 511-316 (.618)
- Walter Johnson - 417-279 (.599)
ERA
- Pedro Martinez - 2.73
- Whitey Ford - 2.75
- Sandy Koufax - 2.76
- Bob Gibson - 2.91
- Greg Maddux - 3.01
- Warren Spahn - 3.09
- Randy Johnson - 3.11
- Roger Clemens - 3.12
- Nolan Ryan - 3.19
- Bob Feller - 3.25
...for argument's sake...
- Walter Johnson - 2.17
- Cy Young - 2.63
OPPONENT'S BATTING AVERAGE
- Nolan Ryan - .204
- Sandy Koufax - .205
- Pedro Martinez - .208
- Randy Johnson - .215
- Bob Gibson - .228
- Roger Clemens - .229
- Bob Feller - .231
- Whitey Ford - .235
- Warren Spahn - .244
- Greg Maddux - .246
...for argument's sake...
- Walter Johnson - .227
- Cy Young - .252
===WHIP=== (walks and hits per inning pitched)
- Pedro Martinez - 1.02 (that is an incredible number!)
- Sandy Koufax - 1.11
- Greg Maddux - 1.13
- Randy Johnson - 1.16
- Roger Clemens - 1.17
- Bob Gibson - 1.19
- Warren Spahn - 1.19
- Whitey Ford - 1.22
- Nolan Ryan - 1.25
- Bob Feller - 1.32
...for argument's sake...
- Walter Johnson - 1.06
- Cy Young - 1.13
STRIKEOUTS PER WALK
- Pedro Martinez - 4.30
- Greg Maddux - 3.36
- Randy Johnson - 3.25
- Roger Clemens - 2.96
- Sandy Koufax - 2.93
- Bob Gibson - 2.33
- Nolan Ryan - 2.04
- Warren Spahn - 1.80
- Whitey Ford - 1.80
- Bob Feller - 1.46
...for argument's sake...
- Walter Johnson - 2.57
- Cy Young - 2.30
As now seems clear, Pedro Martinez is the most dominant pitcher of our generation, one of the most dominant pitchers of all time, as well as a sure-fire first ballot hall-of-famer if he retired today. Love him or hate him, you gotta respect him.
Date
Wed 06/07/06, 3:31 am EST
