Best Season ever by a ML pitcher?

[profholt82]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

Piggybacking off of my last post, Pedro Martinez pitched 18 years and averaged only 157+ innings pitched per season. During his sensational 5-year stretch he had one 241 inning season (his most ever), one 230 inning year and 3 seasons with less than 220 innings. Minimal workload for sure for a team’s ace in the A.L. where there is no pinch hitting for a pitcher. Once again, Pedro was a truly spectacular pitcher but I’ll take the “other” spectacular pitcher who either gets me thru 8 innings or completes what he starts. A MAJOR difference between the two.

True, but Pedro threw an insane amount of strikeouts in those innings. More per 9 innings on average than Bob Gibson or Greg Maddux ever did.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by profholt82

True, but Pedro threw an insane amount of strikeouts in those innings. More per 9 innings on average than Bob Gibson or Greg Maddux ever did.

Maddux was never a strikeout pitcher so that’s a given. True about Pedro’s K’s; definitely a sensational ratio. However, my point is when a pitcher is “coddled” like many of the Post-1990 starters, it allows them to unload their best stuff for roughly 7 innings. ZERO concern over pacing themselves for the 9 inning journey. If anyone thinks that is not a HUGE advantage for the Post-1980 pitcher, they are fooling themselves. For example: Watching the Met-Yankee game last tonight, I noticed deGrom finally pitched into the 8th inning. And what happened? Gardner unloaded a 2-rum HR To beat him. Point being deGrom literally NEVER goes past the 7th inning. Welcome Jacob to the world of the pre-1980’s pitcher!

[Peter_Spaeth]

That's what made Maddux so enjoyable to watch. He wasn't going to blow you away, he was just going to make you look pitiful as you hit a weak grounder or harmless fly. And by late in the game the strike zone was going to be much wider than the plate.

[Misunderestimated]

Probably like comparing apples and fish (as opposed to apples and oranges) but someone on this site has to advocate for Old Hoss Radbourn's 1884 season :
59-12 with 441 Ks and he literally carried his Providence team to the NL pennant... Radbourn was the pitching staff down the stretch when the Providence club took over the league lead and won the title.... and then he led them to three victories in the earliest antecedent to the World Series over the American Association NY team (he did not allow any runs).

https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...adboch01.shtml

Really he did probably did pitch the same game that Kershaw does today or even the same one that Koufax, Grove or Walter Johnson did but still....

https://calltothepen.com/2017/12/11/...hoss-radbourn/