Brandon Webb

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Brandon Tyler Webb

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Biographical Information[edit]

Brandon Webb spent all 7 seasons of his major league career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 87-62 over the period. As a rookie in 2003, he was only 10-9, but his ERA of 2.84 was the 4th best in the National League, and his 172 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings were also outstanding, pointing to future greatness. He fell back to 7-16 in 2004, as the D-Backs had an awful year, and led the National League in losses, walks and wild pitches, but his 3.59 ERA was solid, as it was equivalent to an ERA+ of 129. With essentially the same ERA but fewer walks, he improved to 14-12 in 2005, then had a break-out season in 2006, winning the 2006 National League Cy Young Award when he went 16-8, 3.10. His stats may have looked superficially unimpressive, but he led the National League in wins and shutouts, was 3rd in ERA, 2nd in innings pitched and complete games, 5th in winning percentage and 10th in strikeouts in a year in which no pitcher put up eye-popping numbers.

In 2007, Webb threw 42 consecutive scoreless innings from July 20th to August 17th, including three consecutive complete game shutouts. He was the first hurler to top 40 scoreless innings since Orel Hershiser in 1988 and was tied with Rube Foster for 12th in major league history. He finished the season 18-10, 3.01 and was runner-up for the Cy Young Award.

Webb won his first nine starts in 2008, the best start by a pitcher since Andy Hawkins won 10 in 1985. He finished the year with 22 wins, and again was runner-up for the Cy Young Award. After being the Diamondbacks' opening day starter in 2009, he missed the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, and was out of action again all of 2010 after undergoing a second surgery in August of 2009. He then signed a free agent contract with the Texas Rangers for the 2011 season. He began throwing again in spring training and aimed to be back pitching in the majors in May, but his progress was halted by a recurrence of the problem, requiring a third surgery. He then sat ou all of 2012 and began another comeback attempt in the fall, but soon experienced a return of the pain. On February 4, 2013, he announced his retirement.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 2003 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
  • 3-time NL All-Star (2006-2008)
  • NL Cy Young Award Winner (2006)
  • 2-time NL Wins Leader (2006 & 2008)
  • NL Innings Pitched Leader (2007)
  • NL Complete Games Leader (2007)
  • 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (2006 & 2007)
  • 15 Wins Seasons: 3 (2006-2008)
  • 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (2008)
  • 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (2004-2008)


NL Cy Young Award
2005 2006 2007
Chris Carpenter Brandon Webb Jake Peavy

Further Reading[edit]

  • Will Leitch: "Better than you remember: Brandon Webb: A three-year run as baseball's most dominant pitcher", mlb.com, May 29, 2020. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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