Most Game Scores of at Least 90 in a Post Season

Posted by Raphy on October 7, 2010

One day after Roy Halladay made his historic post-season debut for the Phillies, Tim Lincecum has burst onto the scene for the Giants. Not only did Linceceum and Halladay put up 2 out of the top 3 game-scores for a post season debut, they also became just the third pair of pitchers to post game scores of over 90 in the same post season. Actually, one of the previous seasons was really just the same guy twice. Here are the 2 previous post-seasons to feature multiple games with game scores of at least 90.

Rk	Player	Date	Series	Gm#	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc	IR	IS	BF	AB	2B	3B	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	PO	BK	WP	ERA	WPA	RE24	aLI
1	Mike Scott	1986-10-08	NLCS	1	HOU	NYM	W 1-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	5	0	0	1	14	0	125	88	90			34	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.709	4.036	1.723
2	Nolan Ryan	1986-10-14	NLCS	5	HOU	NYM	L 1-2	GS-9	9.0	2	1	1	1	12	1			90			30	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.00	0.489	3.087	1.113

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/8/2010.

Rk	Player	Date	Series	Gm#	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc	IR	IS	BF	AB	2B	3B	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	PO	BK	WP	ERA	WPA	RE24	aLI
1	Randy Johnson	2001-10-16	NLCS	1	ARI	ATL	W 2-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	1	11	0	125	87	91			31	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.617	5.113	1.003
2	Randy Johnson	2001-10-28	WS	2	ARI	NYY	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	1	11	0	110	76	91			30	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.531	5.113	.972

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/8/2010.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 11:16 pm and is filed under Game Finders, Postseason. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “Most Game Scores of at Least 90 in a Post Season”

volrath50 Says:
October 7th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
So, I guess we're not going to be hearing the end of the phrase "Year of the Pitcher" any time soon.

I'm not going to complain though. These pitching performances are beautiful. Here's hoping for Lincecum vs Halladay in game 1 of the NLCS.
Tom G Says:
October 8th, 2010 at 12:12 am
The two best game scores by NL pitchers in any postseason.
Sean Forman Says:
October 8th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Volrath, I'm pulling for game 7 as that is the only game I have tickets for.
John Autin Says:
October 8th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Halladay and Lincecum obviously had brilliant, historic performances. But I hope we can maintain some perspective on the comparisons of Game Scores. With overall strikeout rates at record levels this year, the conditions are predisposed towards higher Game Scores.

When Bob Gibson fanned 17 in a 1968 World Series game, he did it to a team that had struck out in 15.6% of its PAs during the regular season. The 2010 Braves, whom Lincecum torched for 14 Ks, whiffed at an 18.2% clip in the regular season -- 17.7% more often than the '68 Tigers. And that's a small gap compared to the chasm between now and 1920.

MLB K rate as a percentage of PAs:
-- 2010, 18.5%
-- 1980, 12.5%
-- 1950, 9.9%
-- 1920, 7.7%

Here are the team/season K rates for some other high-K postseason games:
-- 15 Ks by Koufax vs. the 1963 Yankees: 13.3%
-- 14 Ks by Erskine vs. the 1953 Yankees: 10.8%
-- 14 Ks by Ehmke vs. the 1929 Cubs: 9.7%

Game Score does not adjust for this enormous variation over time, nor for other contextual factors -- hit rate, walk rate, runs per game -- that have significant variation over time. Thus, while it's a fun tool for comparing contemporary games, it is ill-suited to comparisons across different eras.
TheGoof Says:
October 8th, 2010 at 10:36 am
True, John, but don't tell me you aren't excited about seeing a Lincecum-Halladay matchup? Or that neither could whip any lineup when they are at their best?

Nothin' to do with nothin', but if any of you haven't, I recommend reading the article in USA Today about Jim Thome on Thursday.

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