Giants Recent Pitching Streak
Posted by Steve Lombardi on September 22, 2010
I recently saw this tweet from Ed Price:
SFGiants have gone 20 games w/o allowing more than 4 R. No team has done that in 21 straight since '81 A's. Last w/22 was '72 Cubs.
And, of course, that made me want to check - and this is what I found in terms of teams (since 1920) with streaks of 18+ games of allowing 4 runs or less:
| Rk | Strk Start | End | Games | W | L | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | WP | BK | Opp | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STL | 1942-09-07 | 1943-04-29 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 232.2 | 172 | 43 | 36 | 58 | 106 | 3 | 1.39 | 1 | 3 | 0 | PIT,NYG,BRO,PHI,BSN,CHC,CIN |
| 2 | CHC | 1972-04-29 | 1972-05-27 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 208.2 | 165 | 52 | 47 | 65 | 119 | 11 | 2.03 | 6 | 4 | 0 | CIN,ATL,HOU,PHI,STL,NYM,MON |
| 3 | CIN | 1943-09-23 | 1944-04-28 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 204.0 | 136 | 32 | 30 | 55 | 82 | 2 | 1.32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NYG,BSN,PHI,BRO,CHC,PIT,STL |
| 4 | WSH | 1924-06-18 | 1924-07-05 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 202.0 | 149 | 41 | 40 | 58 | 55 | 4 | 1.78 | 4 | 0 | 0 | CHW,PHA,NYY,BOS |
| 5 | OAK | 1981-04-09 | 1981-04-29 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 190.0 | 128 | 41 | 40 | 61 | 102 | 12 | 1.89 | 5 | 8 | 2 | MIN,CAL,SEA |
| 6 | BAL | 1965-05-31 | 1965-06-24 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 195.0 | 143 | 47 | 36 | 56 | 108 | 14 | 1.66 | 2 | 7 | 0 | MIN,KCA,CAL,WSA,BOS,NYY |
| 7 | SFG | 2010-08-30 | 2010-09-21 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 179.0 | 110 | 35 | 32 | 42 | 158 | 11 | 1.61 | 6 | 2 | 0 | COL,LAD,ARI,SDP,MIL,CHC |
| 8 | ARI | 2002-08-05 | 2002-08-26 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 186.0 | 149 | 45 | 42 | 51 | 199 | 14 | 2.03 | 6 | 6 | 3 | NYM,ATL,FLA,CIN,CHC,LAD |
| 9 | BAL | 1979-08-26 | 1979-09-14 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 182.0 | 158 | 48 | 44 | 47 | 109 | 12 | 2.18 | 2 | 7 | 1 | CHW,MIN,TOR,BOS |
| 10 | CAL | 1970-09-26 | 1971-04-21 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 189.0 | 148 | 57 | 51 | 61 | 139 | 16 | 2.43 | 4 | 4 | 0 | OAK,CHW,KCR,MIL,MIN |
| 11 | NYM | 1968-05-02 | 1968-05-21 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 193.2 | 130 | 40 | 37 | 47 | 137 | 8 | 1.72 | 5 | 6 | 0 | PHI,CHC,STL,CIN,ATL,PIT |
| 12 | BOS | 1967-06-14 | 1967-07-05 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 177.0 | 131 | 47 | 43 | 52 | 116 | 8 | 2.19 | 5 | 5 | 0 | CHW,WSA,NYY,CLE,MIN,KCA,CAL |
| 13 | STL | 1973-05-15 | 1973-06-07 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 170.0 | 127 | 46 | 41 | 51 | 102 | 11 | 2.17 | 5 | 4 | 3 | PHI,CHC,MON,NYM,ATL,CIN,HOU,SDP |
| 14 | DET | 1968-09-01 | 1968-09-21 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 171.0 | 132 | 41 | 40 | 43 | 155 | 16 | 2.11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | BAL,OAK,MIN,CAL,NYY,WSA |
| 15 | DET | 1968-05-28 | 1968-06-13 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 169.0 | 112 | 38 | 34 | 55 | 114 | 7 | 1.81 | 6 | 1 | 0 | CAL,NYY,BOS,CLE,MIN |
| 16 | SFG | 1964-09-10 | 1964-10-02 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 175.0 | 135 | 45 | 44 | 50 | 124 | 12 | 2.26 | 1 | 4 | 2 | LAD,PHI,NYM,PIT,HOU,CHC |
| 17 | CHW | 1957-05-04 | 1957-05-26 | 19 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 169.0 | 137 | 50 | 45 | 58 | 81 | 12 | 2.40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NYY,BOS,DET,WSH,BAL,CLE |
| 18 | ATL | 1995-06-24 | 1995-07-14 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 160.0 | 133 | 44 | 43 | 34 | 134 | 8 | 2.42 | 4 | 7 | 0 | NYM,MON,PHI,LAD,SFG,PIT,SDP |
| 19 | MIL | 1992-09-11 | 1992-09-29 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 166.1 | 135 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 101 | 7 | 1.84 | 3 | 3 | 1 | BAL,BOS,CAL,OAK,SEA |
| 20 | CIN | 1969-09-21 | 1970-04-11 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 159.2 | 122 | 36 | 34 | 57 | 84 | 9 | 1.92 | 5 | 4 | 0 | HOU,LAD,ATL,MON,SFG |
| 21 | PIT | 1968-04-28 | 1968-05-17 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 163.1 | 142 | 37 | 32 | 55 | 97 | 6 | 1.76 | 4 | 4 | 1 | STL,CHC,PHI,ATL,CIN |
| 22 | CHW | 1964-05-22 | 1964-06-07 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 159.0 | 125 | 47 | 39 | 36 | 102 | 10 | 2.21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | WSA,KCA,DET,CLE |
| 23 | CHW | 1954-07-04 | 1954-07-22 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 155.2 | 115 | 34 | 32 | 55 | 71 | 7 | 1.85 | 1 | 3 | 0 | CLE,BAL,DET,WSH,PHA,NYY |
| 24 | NYY | 1953-06-05 | 1953-06-21 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 162.0 | 126 | 37 | 37 | 51 | 61 | 16 | 2.06 | 4 | 2 | 0 | SLB,DET,CLE |
| 25 | MLN | 1953-04-25 | 1953-05-19 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 160.1 | 113 | 37 | 33 | 57 | 78 | 7 | 1.85 | 1 | 1 | 0 | CIN,NYG,PHI,BRO,CHC,PIT |
| 26 | CHC | 1945-08-31 | 1945-09-14 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 157.0 | 130 | 36 | 30 | 34 | 82 | 4 | 1.72 | 4 | 1 | 0 | STL,CIN,NYG,BSN,PHI |
| 27 | SLB | 1945-04-26 | 1945-05-23 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 164.0 | 132 | 37 | 37 | 39 | 64 | 6 | 2.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CLE,CHW,DET,WSH,PHA,NYY,BOS |
| 28 | NYG | 1935-05-24 | 1935-06-14 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 161.0 | 130 | 46 | 40 | 36 | 79 | 14 | 2.24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | CHC,STL,BRO,BSN,PHI,CIN |
.
Note that St. Louis mark at the top of the list is over two seasons. Ditto the Reds at #3 here. So, it's really the '72 Cubs that the Giants are chasing here - as Ed Price notes. It would be pretty cool if San Fran can pull this off.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Best streak by the 1906 Cubs: 14 games. By the 1906 White Sox: 18 games.
Just 'cause, y'know, I was curious.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:29 pm
How 'bout those '68 Mets? 20 straight and they only could go 10-10! The year of the pitcher!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:36 pm
The most recent three make sense: 2010 Giants with Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Zito; 2002 Dbacks with Johnson and Schilling; 1995 Braves with Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine. Weird to see the 1992 Brewers on here, although that was a very good team which unfortunately for Wisconsin residents happened prior to there being 4 playoff teams.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Did anyone else notice the '45 Browns played the entire league during their streak? Now, you would not be able to play the entire league in 18 games. The '42-'43 Cards and '43-'44 Reds played the whole league as well.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
@ 2,
1968 - the Pirates did it too - .500 record at 9-9. 1968 was tough on batters. Tigers made the list twice - but the future World Champs had an overall 31-7 record over their 2 19-game streaks combined.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Oops — made a mistake in post #1. I thought the criterion was "allowing less than 4 runs," rather than the correct criterion of "allowing 4 runs or less." The corrected figures for the 1906 Cubs and White Sox are 23 and 24 games, respectively.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Teams with the longest streaks scoring four runs or fewer, 1920-2010:
Rk
Strk Start
End
Games
W
L
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SO
BB
SB
CS
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
Opp
1
CAL
1969-04-29
1969-05-27
26
6
20
814
52
161
25
2
10
48
161
77
9
8
.198
.269
.270
.539
SEP,OAK,KCR,NYY,BOS,WSA,DET,CLE
2
BSN
1931-08-13
1931-09-04
26
7
19
863
48
206
25
8
2
44
56
52
7
0
.239
.284
.293
.577
CIN,CHC,PIT,STL,BRO,NYG,PHI
3
MIL
1971-04-07
1971-05-08
25
10
15
800
59
166
19
4
13
55
140
75
9
5
.208
.279
.290
.569
MIN,CAL,OAK,CHW,KCR,WSA,BOS,NYY
4
PHI
1971-04-24
1971-05-21
24
8
16
774
53
172
33
2
16
52
151
71
9
6
.222
.288
.332
.620
STL,HOU,CHC,ATL,CIN,NYM
5
NYM
1965-06-04
1965-06-27
24
4
20
778
34
141
20
5
11
31
176
42
2
5
.181
.225
.262
.487
PIT,SFG,LAD,CIN,HOU
6
CHW
1967-09-24
1968-05-04
23
5
18
738
42
145
15
2
11
40
115
50
13
6
.196
.252
.267
.519
CLE,KCA,WSA,DET,BOS,MIN,NYY
7
ATL
1967-09-15
1968-04-17
23
6
17
756
51
149
14
3
13
46
127
50
7
2
.197
.249
.275
.524
CHC,CIN,STL
8
BAL
1992-09-05
1992-09-27
21
8
13
732
52
169
32
3
12
51
116
48
10
9
.231
.281
.332
.613
CAL,NYY,MIL,KCR,TOR,BOS
9
NYM
1972-07-01
1972-07-27
21
9
12
674
41
120
18
2
5
33
121
82
9
2
.178
.270
.233
.503
MON,SDP,LAD,SFG,PIT
10
BAL
1954-08-03
1954-08-25
21
2
19
690
37
156
21
7
7
35
100
68
3
7
.226
.296
.307
.604
PHA,BOS,CHW,CLE,NYY
11
BAL-SLB
1953-09-25
1954-05-09
21
6
15
689
43
141
23
4
8
40
84
49
4
2
.205
.260
.284
.544
CHW,DET,CLE,WSH,PHA,NYY
12
CLE
1942-08-09
1942-08-28
21
5
15
708
33
145
30
0
2
25
79
63
10
7
.205
.274
.256
.529
CHW,DET,SLB,BOS,NYY
13
CHC
1979-08-18
1979-09-07
20
8
12
652
56
155
21
2
12
53
97
41
7
6
.238
.284
.331
.615
SDP,LAD,SFG,STL,MON,PHI
14
MIL
1976-09-08
1976-09-25
20
3
17
647
42
135
16
3
7
38
110
52
9
3
.209
.271
.275
.546
NYY,BAL,BOS,CLE
15
TEX
1972-07-14
1972-08-04
20
6
14
666
31
123
15
1
4
27
136
61
14
9
.185
.254
.228
.482
CLE,BAL,DET,CAL,OAK,MIN,CHW
16
SEA
1986-04-16
1986-05-06
19
4
15
597
38
101
18
0
14
37
192
73
9
7
.169
.260
.270
.530
CAL,OAK,MIN,BOS,TOR,MIL
17
TEX
1972-09-14
1973-04-10
19
2
17
592
32
98
16
5
2
31
107
48
18
6
.166
.228
.220
.448
CAL,OAK,MIN,CHW,KCR
18
CAL
1972-09-14
1973-04-06
19
12
7
594
40
129
18
7
4
37
97
44
6
5
.217
.272
.291
.563
TEX,CHW,KCR,MIN,OAK
19
CLE
1971-07-17
1971-08-04
19
4
15
619
43
134
19
2
10
41
89
43
3
3
.216
.268
.302
.570
KCR,CAL,OAK,NYY
20
SFG
1965-05-30
1965-06-20
19
11
8
617
43
122
15
3
12
38
91
53
7
1
.198
.265
.290
.555
STL,MLN,CIN,NYM,PIT,LAD
21
HOU
1964-05-04
1964-05-22
19
8
11
604
39
125
19
1
6
34
97
32
6
4
.207
.253
.272
.525
SFG,LAD,CHC,PHI,PIT,NYM
22
CHC
1963-09-03
1963-09-21
19
6
13
601
30
118
21
5
7
29
126
42
7
4
.196
.248
.283
.531
SFG,LAD,HOU,STL,CIN,PIT,MLN
23
BSN
1942-08-14
1942-09-02
19
5
14
601
36
118
23
3
3
35
75
44
1
0
.196
.252
.260
.512
BRO,NYG,PHI,PIT,CIN,STL,CHC
24
MON
2003-09-27
2004-04-22
18
5
13
587
30
115
14
2
9
28
117
40
4
1
.196
.251
.273
.524
CIN,FLA,NYM,PHI
25
SDP
1998-09-13
1999-04-09
18
6
12
592
49
137
33
0
13
48
124
51
12
4
.231
.293
.353
.646
LAD,CHC,COL,ARI,SFG
Rk
Strk Start
End
Games
W
L
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SO
BB
SB
CS
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
Opp
26
TEX
1987-10-02
1988-04-22
18
6
12
592
43
134
15
1
15
38
130
58
16
9
.226
.296
.331
.627
SEA,CLE,BOS,DET
27
SDP
1973-05-30
1973-06-19
18
4
14
572
44
119
18
3
7
42
121
45
4
6
.208
.267
.287
.554
MON,NYM,STL,PHI,HOU
28
CLE
1971-09-17
1972-04-21
18
4
14
580
29
118
13
0
7
26
89
42
6
3
.203
.258
.262
.520
NYY,WSA,BAL,DET,MIL,BOS
29
HOU
1968-07-18
1968-08-04
18
7
11
575
35
119
22
2
2
32
112
35
8
2
.207
.261
.263
.523
ATL,SFG,LAD,CHC,PHI
30
NYM
1963-05-17
1963-06-04
18
5
13
606
41
109
14
3
7
35
133
63
2
3
.180
.256
.248
.504
SFG,LAD,STL,CHC,PIT,MLN
31
NYM
1962-09-20
1963-04-17
18
3
15
577
35
111
16
0
9
32
93
50
2
5
.192
.258
.267
.525
HOU,CHC,MLN,STL,CIN
32
BSN
1945-09-06
1945-09-23
18
7
11
622
43
136
16
0
5
38
50
27
4
0
.219
.255
.268
.523
STL,CHC,PIT,CIN,PHI,BRO,NYG
33
CHW
1933-08-31
1933-09-20
18
3
15
585
38
132
14
1
4
38
56
73
8
5
.226
.313
.274
.586
CLE,DET,WSH,PHA,NYY
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool UsedGenerated 9/22/2010.
(I sure hope the table copied right.)
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Rats. 1969 Angels and 1931 Braves, at 26 apiece (teams with the longest streaks scoring four runs or fewer, 1920-2010). Please feel free to remove that awful thing I pasted.
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Also noticed that the Giants are the only team on this list with 0 CG.
September 22nd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
[...] Giants are close to breaking a modern era record with their 20 consecutive games of allowing fewer than four [...]
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:04 pm
This is not about streaks, but ... The Giants have allowed 4 runs or less in 102 games this year (through Tuesday 9/21), 2nd in MLB to St. Louis (104). They were also 2nd in that regard last year with 111, 1 behind the Dodgers; the steroid-era record is 117 by the 2003 Dodgers.
SF is also 2nd this year with 90 Quality Starts, 5 behind Oakland. Houston is a surprising #3 with 89, tied with the Phils. (Steroid-era record is 114 QS, by the 1997 Braves; that's also the highest total since 1975.)
And SFG are #1 in what I call High-Quality Starts (7+ IP, 2 ER or less), with 53. (Steroid-era record is 73 HQS, by those '97 Braves.)
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Nit-picking here I know, Steve, but the study was not confined to a single season. Even with a similar roster the next year, there is little emotional carry-over in terms of effective pitching from one year to the next. That takes 3 of the top 10 streaks off the list.
@4
DaHOOK, nice catch on the details. It is more impressive for the schedule-makers to make it possible for the '45 Browns to play the whole league in 18 games than for the '42-'43 Cards and '43-'44 Reds which spanned two seasons.
In a pre-computer era, was train travel the dominant factor in determining schedules? No west-coast teams then......
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Another one tonight, even though they lost.
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:32 pm
@4 & @12 re the '45 Browns--
Playing all 7 AL foes wasn't even the oddest thing about that streak. The schedule they played is the strangest I've ever seen. They played 18 games on 14 dates, with 14 days off in between -- and they had 3 days off right before the streak. The streak included 2 "one-off" games, a 2-game series, three 3-game sets, and a pair of 4-game series, with the streak ending during the latter of those.
The streak started on Thursday, April 26 with a singleton game in Cleveland -- the only game they played between adjacent Sundays. They hosted the White Sox for 2 games on Sunday 4/29, then had 2 days off; they hosted Cleveland in another one-off on Wednesday 5/2, then 2 more days off. They went to Detroit for 3 games in 2 days, Sat. 5/5-Sun. 5/6, had Monday off, then hosted Washington on Tuesday, Thursday. and Friday, followed by 3 games with the A's on Sat. 5/12-Sun. 5/13.
After playing those 4 days in a row, they naturally needed 4 straight days off, with no apparent travel involved. Then, just to prove that anything was possible during wartime baseball, they swept 4 at home in 3 days from the Yankees by a combined score of 23-6. (They went 15-7 against the Yanks that year, their best mark against any team.) After 2 more off days, they went to Boston for a 4-game set starting Wednesday 5/23; the streak ended on Thursday 5/24 in an 8-6 loss.
(Just for laughs, from Boston they hopped down to NY for a Sunday d.h., rested Monday, and played at the Yanks again on Tuesday.)
Was it wartime travel difficulties, bad spring weather, a combination, or something else? I don't know. But the rest of their season schedule was much more normal.
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Historical tangent -- skip it if you have no interest in the 1945 AL pennant race or a "where'd-THAT-come-from?" 20-win season by a journeyman:
The Browns' 1945 streak was one of two on the list that included a tie game, a 1-1, 10-inning affair against Washington, with both SPs going the distance. Washington starter Roger Wolff, a wartime replacement who debuted at age 30, had gone 26-47, 3.82 through 1944. But in 1945, he had one of the best out-of-the-blue seasons ever, going 20-10 with a 2.12 ERA, 146 ERA+, 21 CG in 29 starts, 2 saves, 250 IP, and a league-leading 1.01 WHIP. Against the Tigers, who copped the flag by just 1.5 games over the surprising Senators (who nearly went from last to first), Wolff went 4-1, 2.00 in 5 starts; his only loss to Detroit came in a matchup with MVP Hal Newhouser, but Wolff would avenge that.
The 1945 AL stretch run was an odd one. Washington was in it all the way; they were never more than 2.5 GB in September, and Wolff led the way with a remarkable month. He won all 5 September starts and got a save in his lone relief appearance; in 46.2 September innings, he allowed 2 ER (0.39 ERA) and 5 runs total. In a crucial 5-game series against the Tigers at home, Wolff was instrumental in the Nats' 2 wins: after they'd dropped the first 2 games, he beat Newhouser (who had won his previous 5 starts against the Sens), allowing no ER in a CG 3-2 win and drawing 3 walks at the plate; and he closed out the finale with 2 scoreless innings of relief. Then, after 2 straight losses in New York left Washington on the brink of elimination, Wolff righted the ship by shutting out the A's on the penultimate day of their season. Washington finished their schedule on September 23, splitting a doubleheader in Philly to finish at 87-67, the most wins in the league.
But they were still in 2nd place. Detroit, at 86-64, was 1 game up with 4 games to play. The Tigers could have clinched in a Wednesday doubleheader with Cleveland, but after taking the first game 11-0 behind Newhouser, they blew a 6th-inning lead in game 2, forcing them to go on to St. Louis to finish out the schedule. On Sunday Sept. 30, Detroit trailed 3-2 in the 9th, but Hank Greenberg -- who had returned in mid-season from 4 years in the service -- hit a grand slam off Nels Potter, one of the league's top pitchers that year, to clinch the pennant for Detroit.
Back to Wolff: In '46, with the regular players back, Wolff had just 122 IP, but a 2.58 ERA. In '47, Washington dealt him to Cleveland to reacquire OF George Case, whom they'd traded away a year before; two months later, Wolff was sold to Pittsburgh, where his career came to a crashing halt.
I don't know if Roger Wolff's 52 career wins are the fewest of any pitcher with a 20-win season, but it's probably close.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wolffro01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Roger_Wolff
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:20 am
[...] runs or fewer in 16 consecutive games, and they’ve allowed four runs or fewer in 21 games. They’re close to making history… Tomorrow: Madison Bumgarner vs. Ryan Dempster…here’s how Giants hitters have done [...]
September 23rd, 2010 at 6:17 am
@ 9 the giants have 0 complete games and 4 shut outs....obviously something doesnt add up
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:24 am
MLBN says their streak of 3R or less is 16 games, tied for the longest with the '81 Cubs.
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:04 am
Er, I mean '81 A's. And '72 Indians as well.
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:05 am
The Giants "unfinished masterpieces" {see post 17} are no surprise; in this era of relief specialists, I believe that complete games will never become commonplace again. At least, this is one old coot who hopes they won't.
From Herb Score to Mark Fidrych, baseball is loaded with "couldabeens" who blew out arms from overwork. The advent of the relief specialist given starting pitchers the same opportunity to have long careers as do position players, and I for one applaude it.
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 am
Now 11 straight allowing 2 ER or fewer...team ERA down from good 3.60 to great (and league-leading) 3.41...but where's the offense?
September 23rd, 2010 at 2:34 pm
@17 Michael -- There's no discrepancy between 0 complete games and 4 shutouts.
Complete games are solely an individual stat, since the team always throws a complete game.
But shutouts apply to both individuals and teams. The Giants have had 4 (combined) shutouts during the streak, but no individual complete games.
September 23rd, 2010 at 3:09 pm
@20
Frank, for every Herb Score isn't there a Blyleven? What about Doc Halladay who has shown longevity and finishes a lot of his games?
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:34 pm
@23
Neil, I am wondering just how much the development of the relief specialists has augmented starter longevity. As I said before, I think it's a good thing. I only hope that future fans recognize the achievements of the old timers when most of the won-loss records, strikeout records, et al, come tumbling down.
I am also hoping {and expecting} to see Young's win record to be eclipsed in the fairly near future.
September 23rd, 2010 at 6:28 pm
look at those 68 Tigers. Did it TWICE!
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:06 pm
@25
Barkfart, Tmckelv noted the Tigers in @5. What was remarkable about their performance is that they had the bats to take advantage of the good pitching. In an offensive famine, the Bengals combined record in the streaks was 31-7 with 20 complete games.
By comparison, as noted in @2 by Larry, the '68 Mets were only 10-10 in their streak and the '68 Pirates 9-9. In another discussion forum posters have noted how Denny McLain rode this offense to a 31 and 6 record.
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 pm
@20, and seconding Neil L. @23 (with apologies for another tangent) --
It's not just that for every Herb Score there's a Bert Blyleven, as Neil L. said. It's also that for every high-workload pitcher who got hurt, there are two injured pitchers who never bore a heavy load; for every one who burned out early after a blazing start, there are three who never blazed but burned out anyway.
I think the trend toward limiting pitches and innings has far outstripped the actual research on the connection between workload and injury. And with what tangible gain? Can anyone show that pitcher injuries have declined over the past 5 or 10 years?
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
@27
Just ask the Washington Nationals...... Good point, John, it raises questions about the four-man rotation in the "golden" days of baseball.
What did we do in the days before a certain Birmingham, Alabama specialist?
September 23rd, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Saw this on the CBS Sports Recap of the Giants 13-0 win over the Cubs today.
"San Francisco pitchers, meanwhile, kept doing a solid job. They have gone 17 straight games giving up three or fewer runs, the longest streak since the Chicago White Sox set the record with 20 in a row in 1917, the Elias Sports Bureau said."
September 24th, 2010 at 12:03 am
[...] you want to know something more amazing than the Giants scoring 13 runs? Via Baseball Reference, before tonight’s game: SFGiants have gone 20 games w/o allowing more than 4 R. No team has [...]
September 25th, 2010 at 7:38 am
you are correct hehe...brain wasnt functioning properly at 6 in the morning : - )