Gil Meche retires
Posted by Andy on January 18, 2011
Gil Meche announced his retirement today.
He's both the poster boy and anti-poster boy for the Royals. He's the anti-poster boy because the Royals gave him a big-money 5-year contract. He's the poster boy because over 2007-2008 among the 45 pitchers to start at least 60 games, he's one of a handful to have a losing record:
| Rk | Player | GS | CG | W | L | IP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Cain | .333 | 66 | 2 | 15 | 30 | 417.2 | 3.71 | 120 |
| 2 | Carlos Silva | .370 | 61 | 3 | 17 | 29 | 355.1 | 5.17 | 83 |
| 3 | Daniel Cabrera | .378 | 64 | 3 | 17 | 28 | 384.1 | 5.41 | 84 |
| 4 | Ian Snell | .400 | 63 | 1 | 16 | 24 | 372.1 | 4.50 | 96 |
| 5 | Scott Olsen | .409 | 66 | 0 | 18 | 26 | 378.1 | 4.95 | 88 |
| 6 | Barry Zito | .412 | 65 | 0 | 21 | 30 | 376.2 | 4.83 | 92 |
| 7 | Edwin Jackson | .422 | 62 | 1 | 19 | 26 | 344.1 | 5.04 | 88 |
| 8 | Paul Maholm | .442 | 60 | 3 | 19 | 24 | 384.0 | 4.31 | 99 |
| 9 | Kevin Millwood | .442 | 60 | 3 | 19 | 24 | 341.1 | 5.12 | 88 |
| 10 | Greg Maddux | .478 | 67 | 1 | 22 | 24 | 392.0 | 4.18 | 94 |
| 11 | Bronson Arroyo | .480 | 68 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 410.2 | 4.49 | 101 |
| 12 | Braden Looper | .480 | 63 | 1 | 24 | 26 | 374.0 | 4.52 | 96 |
| 13 | Aaron Harang | .489 | 63 | 3 | 22 | 23 | 416.0 | 4.20 | 108 |
| 14 | Gil Meche | .489 | 68 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 426.1 | 3.82 | 117 |
Notice how he started more games than most and had a higher ERA+, and yet he was still in this group of "losers". Over that same time period, 19 pitchers started at least 60 games and had an ERA over 110. Only Meche and Matt Cain had losing records.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
He is also the poster boy for integrity or insane (depending on your view) because he passed up on $12 million guaranteed.
January 18th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Andy - I think you meant *lower* ERA in your bottom paragraph.
January 18th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Actually I meant higher ERA+, and I fixed that. Thanks.
January 18th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
[...] rest is here: Gil Meche retires » Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive Posted in General Tags: era, generated, group, started-more, time-period « Freeman No. 2 [...]
January 18th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
http://deadspin.com/5736801/a-fond-farewell-to-the-most-average-man-in-baseball
January 18th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Man...I wish the author of that Deadspin article linked to our blog, given how much he talked about things that have been discussed in detail here, like how Wins and Losses don't matter, etc.
January 18th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Every time I heard or read his name, I thought of Phillip Roth's "The Great American Novel" and his character Gil Gamesh, the Babylonian-American pitcher with incomparable stuff who begins to come unhinged when an umpire misses a call. (The character's name is based on Babylonian legend, Gilgamesh.)
January 18th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
@1, I wonder if he really did pass up all of the $12 million. I can see a scenario where he went back to the Royals and they worked out a deal. He wasn't going to provide any value for them in 2011, so even if he gave back "only" $4 million, and takes away $8 million, then that's still an extra $4 million in the Royals' pocket. He retires, his player contract is now void, and the Royals sign him to a new business contract. Everyone wins.
Not saying this happened, but I wouldn't be surprised, and I'm not sure how we'd ever know.
January 18th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
http://defendingthecore.blogspot.com/2011/01/mets-sign-young.html
January 18th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
given how much he talked about things that have been discussed in detail here, like how Wins and Losses don't matter, etc.
Didn't read the article, but I have a feeling the importance of W/L record had been discussed once or twice before the mighty B-R Blog came along...
January 18th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
14 of 41 is a handful?
January 18th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
JT, yeah it's just the timeliness of his links that struck me...not trying to suggest that this blog is the be-all and end-all.
Locode, I was wondering when you'd show your face again. Excellent nitpicking, I'm sure we're all very impressed.
January 18th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
That 132 pitch GC he threw in Jun of '09 did him in. I happened to be posting with a KC fan during that game & half-joking said that game would ruin him. Look what he did since...
January 19th, 2011 at 2:03 am
Poster boy...there's yin and yang to his poster boyness. There's been a lot of buzz on this topic, and everyone has their own opinion. Looking forward to reading more of your comments!
January 19th, 2011 at 3:14 am
Pop quiz: Name the only KC pitcher in the last 10 years combined who has 20+ wins for the Royals and a winning record.
January 19th, 2011 at 3:30 am
Time's up! The answer to my question @15: Paul Byrd.
January 19th, 2011 at 3:46 am
The starkest fact in the table atop this thread:
Matt Cain had the best ERA+ (120), but the worst W% (.333).
January 19th, 2011 at 9:15 am
@17,
But I bet he is feeling much better now.
January 19th, 2011 at 9:21 am
I love when we talk W-L / ERA+...
Bronson Arroyo:
2007 - 9-15 / 109
2008 - 15-11 / 93
January 19th, 2011 at 10:03 am
And then there's everyone's favorite W-L / ERA+: Nolan Ryan, 1987 — 8-16 / 142.
I've always liked Larry Christenson, 1977 — 19-6 / 99. The ERA+ exactly matches his career figure, and without 1977 his career W-L record is 64-65. Sort of a Mr. Average Starting Pitcher, like Gil Meche.
January 19th, 2011 at 10:24 am
My favorite was always:
Bob Wickman, 1993 Yankees: 14-4, 4.63 (90)
Anthony Young, 1993 Mets: 1-16, 3.77 (108)
January 19th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
How about the career of poor Ned Garvin?
-- Career W-L record of 58-97 (.374 W%), with a 125 ERA+ (2.72 ERA).
-- In 7 seasons, Garvin never had a winning record; even in the 2 years that he changed teams mid-season, his record with each team was .500 or worse. Yet, except for his 2-game debut, in each season (including each split), his ERA+ was at least 104.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garvine01.shtml
January 19th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
http://60ft6in.com/2011/01/19/gil-meche-integrity-exists/