Guess the AMAZING Statistic these 6 2019 MLB teams are currently tied with:
 

Angels - 29 games played

Royals - 28 games played

Cubs - 26 games played

Nationals - 26 games played

Padres - 28 games played

D-Backs- 29 games played

The Answer:
 

I realize it's not a popular statistic - even considered more contrived than most....but, I find it amazing that 1/5 of all ML Teams have not recorded a Quality Start (defined as 6IP w 3 or less ER)

Scherzer doesn't have any? WOW!


...and, of course, ESPN.com is also incorrect, Scherzer has 3 quality starts.

First Elias, now ESPN- making E's.

Are we loosing dependable sources of information?


Thank Goodness for Baseball-Reference.com - I hope!


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Did the Red Sox get one, I missed it. :eek:

Good Bye : Quality Start, Starter Wins & 20G Winners
 

This year starting pitchers may end up with less than 5 innings per start.

Quality starts require 6 innings I believe. To win a game, starters must complete 5 innings.

If current trends continue, quality starts will disappear completely.

Furthermore starters will always be able to lose a game, but will not be able to win a game.

Perhaps a rare twenty game winner will occur as a reliefer, but starters will have very few wins and will of necessity be evaluated on the base of their loss/start percentage (losses divided by games started).

This of course will lead to a new pitching metric for starters, LBR or losses below replacement. Alternative names for the new metric are possible. For example, the unsaved start would convey the same information, but I prefer LBR.

Ten years from now you can say that you heard it here first, before SABR, before
ESPN, before Elias etc

My Red Sox - the defending World Champion Red Sox - have played 29 games. The team leader is wins is Marcus Walden, whom I wouldn't recognize if he was standing next to me, and I know a lot about baseball in general and this Red Sox team in particular.

Walden's 3 wins are more than Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi combined (2), through their combined 20 starts (and combined nearly $100M salary for 2019).

What has happened to starting pitching indeed?!?

Sale has done well, 0-5 with an ERA over 6. I wonder how thoroughly his arm was evaluated before that contract?

multiple quality starts
 

Looks like all these teams have multiple quality starts this season

Anaheim (6) .. Harvey (3) Cahill (2)
KC (9).. Keller (4) Bailey (2)
Cubs (11) .. Hamels (3), Quintana (3), Lester (2)
Nationals (13)... Corbin (5), Scherzer (3) Strasburg (3)
San Diego (6) Straham (2), Paddock (2)
Arizona (12) . Grienke (5) Kelly (3) Weaver (2)

I'm a futurist.

Not saying there aren't still quality starts now.

Just wait ten years, unless they change the definition so that one can get a quality start by pitching three innings.

The current trend, if continued, will mitigate against any pitcher facing the same batter twice in a single game. Pitch counts will become passe´.

What's your prediction for the date of the last complete game ever recorded?

Fred- I'm sure you are right. I am appalled at the number of errors I'm encountering in previously reliable sources. I am guilty of spreading those inaccuracies and will double-check my facts in the future.

Thanks for the efforts to 'get it right'.


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I’ll tell you when I see it.;)

By the way we are now about 20% into the season and there have been 5 complete games. That extrapolates to 25 complete games in 2019.

We will get to zero for a year and it may happen quicker than you think.

Walden picked up Win #4 tonight, as a reliever in the third inning after a two inning starter bailed.

The nine inning starter gets a decision 99% of the time.
The eight inning starter gets a lower percentage of decisions.
The seven inning starter gets fewer than the eight inning guy.
and so forth.

As the average number of starter innings approaches five, we are already seeing more decisions for bull pen pitchers. A pitching staff will a couple of ten game winning starters will become outstanding.

There will be more and more Waldens leading their team in wins.