Pitching: The Best and Worst in Baseball and Why it Wins Championships

After reading an article concerning the Baltimore Orioles following the 2010 season stating how the the O’s had a shot at winning the 2011 World Series “Believe it or not, this team isn’t as bad as the 2010 66-96 record indicated,” all I could say looking toward the last month of the regular season…….Yes, yes they are. But why is that? When you look at the offensive statistics the Orioles are in the middle of the pack as far as runs scored go. The offensive production, although not spectacular doesn’t seem to be the problem, so then what is? How about the fact that the pitching staff holds a 4.85 ERA, by far the worst in baseball, and no one in the starting rotation or bullpen has stepped up to the plate or more appropriately “the rubber” to provide anything better than mediocrity for the Orioles. Only the Houston Astros who have given up the second most runs in baseball and produced 45 less runs offensively have a worse record than the O’s.

On the flip side of this we look at why the Philadelphia Phillies have been dominant all season and have the best record in baseball going into September. While some teams struggle to find a pitcher to take on the “ace” role in the starting rotation, the Phillies can’t seem to find someone who CAN’T fill that role. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Chad Hamels, and Vance Worley all possess an ERA under 3.00 and combine for a record of 54-20. Number five in the rotation would be Roy Oswalt who has yet to have a losing season in any of his 11 years in the majors, but his streak as a .500 plus starter is on the line as he holds a 6-8 record and 3.77 ERA going into September. The offensive numbers for the Phillies have also been insignificant scoring just 32 more runs than the struggling Orioles. However, when you have sustained the lowest ERA in baseball throughout most of the season and have been as dominant as the Phillies have, there is no doubt that pitching is the reason they have won so many ball games.

A final note would be to ensure you that the previous statement is clearly not always true. While the Phillies have claimed the best ERA in baseball as well as the best record thus far, there are teams that have a great starting rotation and knee-deep bullpen, and still can’t find a way to win games. A few teams the come to mind? How about the San Diego Padres who have the fourth lowest ERA in baseball at 3.48 but such horrid offensive numbers that they have been out of the running in the NL West for a majority of the season and now have the seventh worst record in all of baseball. A couple other teams who have decent pitching and can’t seem to win games: the Washington Nat’s, Oakland A’s, and the Seattle Mariners.


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