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Posted on Sat, Nov. 14, 2009 10:15 PM
Comparing Greinke’s season to the AL’s 10 best seasons for starting pitchers since the Deadball Era
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Zack Greinke will find out Tuesday whether he’s the American League Cy Young winner, and although he’s already received three major national pitching awards, there’s still some fear that some voters may discount him because of a 16-8 win-loss record.
Obviously, wins aren’t the best way to judge a pitcher, especially one who throws for the Royals. At some point this season, the how-good-is-Zack? question turned from whether he was the best pitcher in the American League to where he ranked historically.
There is a stat called ERA+ that compares a pitcher’s ERA to the league’s, producing a number that can be handy to rank pitchers historically. An ERA+ of 100 is exactly average, an ERA+ of 110 is 10 percent better than league average, and so on.
Greinke’s ERA+ of 203 is the best in the American League (minimum 200 innings) since Pedro Martinez (291) in 2000. In fact, Greinke was just the fifth pitcher to have an ERA of less than half the league average while striking out more than 200.
Using ERA+, here are the AL’s 10 best seasons for starting pitchers since the Deadball Era:
291Pedro Martinez 2000 Red Sox
•Stats: 18-6, 1.74 ERA, 284 strikeouts, 217 innings
•Stats: 18-6, 1.74 ERA, 284 strikeouts, 217 innings
•Won Cy Young? Yes
•Comment: Allowed two or fewer earned runs in 22 of 29 starts.
243Pedro Martinez 1999 Red Sox
•Stats: 23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts, 213 1/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Yes
•Comment: 300-plus strikeouts at the height of the Steroid Era is remarkable.
221Roger Clemens 1997 Blue Jays
•Stats: 21-7, 2.05 ERA, 292 strikeouts, 264 innings
•Won Cy Young? Yes
•Comment: No jokes about this being the height of the Steroid Era.
219Lefty Grove 1931 A’s
•Stats: 31-4, 2.06 ERA, 175 strikeouts, 288 2/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Not awarded until 1956, but won MVP
•Comment: Completed 27 of his 30 starts, and also came out of the bullpen 11 times.
213Roger Clemens 1990 Red Sox
•Stats: 21-6, 1.93 ERA, 209 strikeouts, 228 1/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? No
•Comment: His ERA was best in the league by nearly half a run, but lost the Cy Young Award to Oakland’s Bob Welch in a regrettable vote by the BBWAA.
208Ron Guidry 1978 Yankees
•Stats: 25-3, 1.74 ERA, 248 strikeouts, 273 2/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Yes
•Comment: Allowed less than one batter per inning.
203Zack Greinke 2009 Royals
•Stats: 16-8, 2.16 ERA, 242 strikeouts, 229 1/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Will find out Tuesday
•Comment: And he never got to pitch against the Royals.
201Billy Pierce 1955 White Sox
•Stats: 15-10, 1.97 ERA, 157 strikeouts, 205 2/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Not awarded until 1956
•Comment: He was Greinke before Greinke: went 15-10 despite a league-best 1.97 ERA. Lost four 1-0 games.
198Dean Chance 1964 Angels
•Stats: 20-9, 1.65 ERA, 207 strikeouts, 278 1/3 innings
•Won Cy Young? Yes
•Comment: Pitched 14 scoreless innings in a start against the Yankees — and got a no-decision.
197Spud Chandler 1943 Yankees
•Stats: 20-4, 1.64 ERA, 134 strikeouts, 253 innings
•Won Cy Young? Not awarded until 1956
•Comment: Had by far his best season at 35 years old, and won the MVP.
Posted on Sat, Nov. 14, 2009 10:15 PM
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