Quiz – Power Pitchers (solved) |

Here are a group of dominating pitchers, among the elite in the game’s history. They have distinguished themselves from their live-ball era brethren by dint of achieving a certain seasonal feat.

What is this feat achieved by no other pitcher since 1920?

Rk	Player
1	Pedro Martinez
2	Roger Clemens
3	Greg Maddux
4	Kevin Brown
5	Dwight Gooden
6	Ron Guidry
7	Tom Seaver
8	Luis Tiant
9	Bob Gibson
10	Sandy Koufax
11	Lefty Grove

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/11/2013.

Hint: some of these pitchers achieved this feat more than once

Congratulations to John Autin! John identified these pitchers as the only hurlers since 1920 with a season of 200+ IP and an ERA+ > 200 x WHIP. Take a look at these spectacular seasons after the jump.

If we lower the 200 IP requirement to qualifying for the ERA title, there are no more pitchers added, but a few more seasons by the same guys. Here are those seasons, chronologically.

Rk	Player	Year	ERA+	WHIP	Age	Tm	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	W-L%	IP	BB	SO	ERA	HR
1	Roger Clemens	2005	226	1.008	42	HOU	32	32	1	0	13	8	.619	211.1	62	185	1.87	11
2	Pedro Martinez	2003	211	1.039	31	BOS	29	29	3	0	14	4	.778	186.2	47	206	2.22	7
3	Pedro Martinez	2002	202	0.923	30	BOS	30	30	2	0	20	4	.833	199.1	40	239	2.26	13
4	Pedro Martinez	2000	291	0.737	28	BOS	29	29	7	4	18	6	.750	217.0	32	284	1.74	17
5	Pedro Martinez	1999	243	0.923	27	BOS	31	29	5	1	23	4	.852	213.1	37	313	2.07	9
6	Pedro Martinez	1997	219	0.932	25	MON	31	31	13	4	17	8	.680	241.1	67	305	1.90	16
7	Roger Clemens	1997	222	1.030	34	TOR	34	34	9	3	21	7	.750	264.0	68	292	2.05	9
8	Kevin Brown	1996	215	0.944	31	FLA	32	32	5	3	17	11	.607	233.0	33	159	1.89	8
9	Greg Maddux	1995	260	0.811	29	ATL	28	28	10	3	19	2	.905	209.2	23	181	1.63	8
10	Greg Maddux	1994	271	0.896	28	ATL	25	25	10	3	16	6	.727	202.0	31	156	1.56	4
11	Dwight Gooden	1985	229	0.965	20	NYM	35	35	16	8	24	4	.857	276.2	69	268	1.53	13
12	Ron Guidry	1978	208	0.946	27	NYY	35	35	16	9	25	3	.893	273.2	72	248	1.74	13
13	Tom Seaver	1971	194	0.946	26	NYM	36	35	21	4	20	10	.667	286.1	61	289	1.76	18
14	Luis Tiant	1968	186	0.871	27	CLE	34	32	19	9	21	9	.700	258.1	73	264	1.60	16
15	Bob Gibson	1968	258	0.853	32	STL	34	34	28	13	22	9	.710	304.2	62	268	1.12	11
16	Sandy Koufax	1964	186	0.928	28	LAD	29	28	15	7	19	5	.792	223.0	53	223	1.74	13
17	Lefty Grove	1931	217	1.077	31	PHA	41	30	27	4	31	4	.886	288.2	62	175	2.06	10

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/12/2013.

One pitcher seems to stand out among the others. Pedro’s 2000 campaign, with that ridiculous 0.737 WHIP and almost 9:1 SO/BB walk ratio, may well be the most dominant ever.

Most of these seasons are justifiably famous. Among the others are Luis Tiant’s 1968 campaign, overshadowed by Denny McLain’s 31 wins and Bob Gibson’s iconic 1.12 ERA. Tiant and Sudden Sam McDowell were the aces of an Indians’ staff that became the first team to log more strikeouts than hits allowed, a feat unmatched until 2009 when the Giants and Dodgers pulled it off (the Giants did it again in 2010 and 2011, as well as the Rays and Nats in 2012).

A couple more lists. These are the top 25 ERA+ seasons that missed our list.

Rk	Player	ERA+	WHIP	Year	Age	Tm	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	W-L%	IP	BB	SO	ERA	HR
1	Roger Clemens	211	1.082	1990	27	BOS	31	31	7	4	21	6	.778	228.1	54	209	1.93	7
2	Zack Greinke	205	1.073	2009	25	KCR	33	33	6	3	16	8	.667	229.1	51	242	2.16	11
3	Dolf Luque	201	1.140	1923	32	CIN	41	37	28	6	27	8	.771	322.0	88	151	1.93	2
4	Dean Chance	200	1.006	1964	23	LAA	46	35	15	11	20	9	.690	278.1	86	207	1.65	7
5	Billy Pierce	200	1.099	1955	28	CHW	33	26	16	6	15	10	.600	205.2	64	157	1.97	16
6	Spud Chandler	198	0.992	1943	35	NYY	30	30	20	5	20	4	.833	253.0	54	134	1.64	5
7	Randy Johnson	197	1.052	1997	33	SEA	30	29	5	2	20	4	.833	213.0	77	291	2.28	20
8	Hal Newhouser	195	1.114	1945	24	DET	40	36	29	8	25	9	.735	313.1	110	212	1.81	5
9	Randy Johnson	195	1.031	2002	38	ARI	35	35	8	4	24	5	.828	260.0	71	334	2.32	26
10	Nolan Ryan	195	1.121	1981	34	HOU	21	21	5	3	11	5	.688	149.0	68	140	1.69	2
11	Carl Hubbell	193	0.982	1933	30	NYG	45	33	22	10	23	12	.657	308.2	47	156	1.66	6
12	Lefty Gomez	193	1.171	1937	28	NYY	34	34	25	6	21	11	.656	278.1	93	194	2.33	10
13	Randy Johnson	193	1.045	1995	31	SEA	30	30	6	3	18	2	.900	214.1	65	294	2.48	12
14	Monty Stratton	193	1.087	1937	25	CHW	22	21	14	5	15	5	.750	164.2	37	69	2.40	6
15	Mort Cooper	192	0.987	1942	29	STL	37	35	22	10	22	7	.759	278.2	68	152	1.78	9
16	Sandy Koufax	190	0.985	1966	30	LAD	41	41	27	5	27	9	.750	323.0	77	317	1.73	19
17	Hal Newhouser	190	1.069	1946	25	DET	37	34	29	6	26	9	.743	292.2	98	275	1.94	10
18	Dazzy Vance	190	1.063	1928	37	BRO	38	32	24	4	22	10	.688	280.1	72	200	2.09	11
19	Greg Maddux	189	0.946	1997	31	ATL	33	33	5	2	19	4	.826	232.2	20	177	2.20	9
20	Dazzy Vance	189	1.144	1930	39	BRO	35	31	20	4	17	15	.531	258.2	55	173	2.61	15
21	Wilbur Wood	189	1.000	1971	29	CHW	44	42	22	7	22	13	.629	334.0	62	210	1.91	21
22	Lefty Grove	189	1.192	1936	36	BOS	35	30	22	6	17	12	.586	253.1	65	130	2.81	14
23	Warren Spahn	188	1.058	1953	32	MLN	35	32	24	5	23	7	.767	265.2	70	148	2.10	14
24	Randy Johnson	188	1.009	2001	37	ARI	35	34	3	2	21	6	.778	249.2	71	372	2.49	19
25	Greg Maddux	187	0.980	1998	32	ATL	34	34	9	5	18	9	.667	251.0	45	204	2.22	13

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/12/2013.

And, the top 25 WHIP seasons that missed our list.

Rk	Player	WHIP	ERA+	Year	Age	Tm	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	W-L%	IP	BB	SO	ERA	HR
1	Dave McNally	0.842	150	1968	25	BAL	35	35	18	5	22	10	.688	273.0	55	202	1.95	24
2	Sandy Koufax	0.855	160	1965	29	LAD	43	41	27	8	26	8	.765	335.2	71	382	2.04	26
3	Juan Marichal	0.859	167	1966	28	SFG	37	36	25	4	25	6	.806	307.1	36	222	2.23	32
4	Roger Nelson	0.871	145	1972	28	KCR	34	19	10	6	11	6	.647	173.1	31	120	2.08	13
5	Sandy Koufax	0.875	159	1963	27	LAD	40	40	20	11	25	5	.833	311.0	58	306	1.88	18
6	Randy Johnson	0.900	176	2004	40	ARI	35	35	4	2	16	14	.533	245.2	44	290	2.60	18
7	Denny McLain	0.905	154	1968	24	DET	41	41	28	6	31	6	.838	336.0	63	280	1.96	31
8	Don Sutton	0.913	162	1972	27	LAD	33	33	18	9	19	9	.679	272.2	63	207	2.08	13
9	Catfish Hunter	0.914	140	1972	26	OAK	38	37	16	5	21	7	.750	295.1	70	191	2.04	21
10	Juan Marichal	0.914	169	1965	27	SFG	39	37	24	10	22	13	.629	295.1	46	240	2.13	27
11	Justin Verlander	0.920	172	2011	28	DET	34	34	4	2	24	5	.828	251.0	57	250	2.40	24
12	Johan Santana	0.921	182	2004	25	MIN	34	34	1	1	20	6	.769	228.0	54	265	2.61	24
13	Mike Scott	0.923	161	1986	31	HOU	37	37	7	5	18	10	.643	275.1	72	306	2.22	17
14	Joe Horlen	0.935	184	1964	26	CHW	32	28	9	2	13	9	.591	210.2	55	138	1.88	11
15	John Tudor	0.938	185	1985	31	STL	36	36	14	10	21	8	.724	275.0	49	169	1.93	14
16	Pascual Perez	0.941	147	1988	31	MON	27	27	4	2	12	8	.600	188.0	44	131	2.44	15
17	Greg Maddux	0.946	189	1997	31	ATL	33	33	5	2	19	4	.826	232.2	20	177	2.20	9
18	Warren Hacker	0.946	149	1952	27	CHC	33	20	12	5	15	9	.625	185.0	31	84	2.58	17
19	Pedro Martinez	0.949	146	2005	33	NYM	31	31	4	1	15	8	.652	217.0	47	208	2.82	19
20	Vida Blue	0.952	183	1971	21	OAK	39	39	24	8	24	8	.750	312.0	88	301	1.82	19
21	Jason Schmidt	0.953	180	2003	30	SFG	29	29	5	3	17	5	.773	207.2	46	208	2.34	14
22	Joe Horlen	0.953	146	1967	29	CHW	35	35	13	6	19	7	.731	258.0	58	103	2.06	13
23	Dick Hughes	0.954	123	1967	29	STL	37	27	12	3	16	6	.727	222.1	48	161	2.67	22
24	Bret Saberhagen	0.961	180	1989	25	KCR	36	35	12	4	23	6	.793	262.1	43	193	2.16	13
25	Don Drysdale	0.965	147	1964	27	LAD	40	40	21	5	18	16	.529	321.1	68	237	2.18	15

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/12/2013.

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Insert Name Here

10 years ago

Qualifying ERA < 2.00

no statistician but

Reply to Insert Name Here

Grove doesn’t make it. Can’t be ERA+ greater that 200 either. This is a Doug quiz, so it’s three or four things together.

Author

Doug

Reply to no statistician but

Actually, it’s only one thing.

Reply to Doug

Then it’s time to call in Richard Chester.

Doug:

I’m going to quibble here, even though your quizzes are out of my league, so it matters not at all to my ego:

ERA+, 200 innings, and WHIP seem like three things together to me. Maybe its a semantic thing.

Good quibble. My one criterion was ERA+ > 200 x WHIP. It has two pieces of data, but they’re combined into one criterion. I just mentioned 200 IP because that’s what John gave as his answer. My formulation (which yielded the same result) was qualified for the ERA title, which I wasn’t really thinking of as a criterion when I commented @3. More like just defining a season, rather than the heart of the matter – what a player did in that season. But, I can see how others might view it differently. Anyway, that’s my explanation. Thanks for playing.… Read more »

Richard Chester

I viewed it as nsb did. Actually it is one thing, a ratio, which I initially suspected. It is (ERA+)/(200 x WHIP) is greater than 1.

Voomo Zanzibar

Lefty Grove won 111 games in the minors:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=grove-002rob

I noticed that 20-6 Lefty Grove only pitched in relief in the 1929 World Series. Why? ______ Because seven of the eight regulars in the Cubs’ lineup hit right-handed (except for first baseman Charlie Grimm), Mack started only right-handed pitchers and kept all his lefties in the bullpen even though two of his best starters, 300-game-winner-to-be Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg, were southpaws. Accordingly, Game 1 will be remembered mostly for the surprise start of aging A’s pitcher Howard Ehmke. The 35-year-old Ehmke’s first-game appearance was no sentimental move by Mack even though he was considered “over the hill,” having… Read more »

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Good stuff, Voomo.

Interesting timing Voomo. Yesterday Joe Posnanski had a post about how the Braves basically refused to use Warren Spahn against the Dodgers from 54-57. He only started against them twice in that span, whereas he started between 13-28 games against the other teams. The Dodgers had a very right-heavy lineup which is why the Braves didn’t use Spahn against the Dodgers. Of course Spahn pitched equally well against righties (.652 OPS) and lefties (.657 OPS) so it’s not clear the Braves made the right decision.

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2013/05/warren-spahn-and-brooklyn-dodgers.html

Dr. Doom

Well, all of them have at least one 200+ IP season for which ERA*100 < IP

Pedro – 1997, 1999, 2000
Rocket – 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2005
Mad Dog – 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998
Brown – 1996, 1998
Doc – 1985
Guidry – 1978
Seaver – 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
Tiant – 1968, 1974
Gibson – 1966, 1968, 1969, 1972
Koufax – 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
Grove – 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935

Reply to Dr. Doom

I guess this isn’t it. Verlander did it two years ago, too – 2.40 ERA, 251 IP. And King Felix did it the year before that. Oh well. Still, it’s an impressive feat, I think.

Editor

John Autin

Given the presence of Pedro, Maddux, Clemens and K.Brown, I wonder what criterion would separate them from Randy Johnson.

Thought I was onto something with:
[ERA+ more than 2 * WHIP] and at least 230 IP.

That lands all but Koufax and Maddux — but no tinkering with those numbers seems to bring them in while keeping others out.

Reply to John Autin

You are onto something, John.

D’oh! I tried to take mental shortcuts — I just *knew* that any great seasons by Koufax and Maddux had to have at least 220 IP, so then I tinkered with the ratio instead.

Of course, I overlooked Koufax’s injury-shortened ’64, and Maddux’s strike-shortened 1994-95.

So … 200+ innings, and [ERA+ more than 200 times WHIP].

That works, John. Congratulations!

Also qualified for the ERA title and ERA+ > 200 * WHIP.

I was thinking it might have something to do with strikeouts, but the presences of Grove and Maddux make it difficult to fathom what that might be.