Pitchers statistics
We asked a panel of DMBL pitching greats who they
think should win the Ben McDonald Award, presented
annually to the league's top pitcher.
No Relief in Sight Rod Beck
No reliever has ever won the McDonald Award, and maybe
that's for the best: After all, no starting pitcher
has ever claimed the Dennis Eckersley Award, presented
annually to the league's top reliever. In fact, many
say no reliever should win the award after the
fiasco of '91, when that scrub rookie McDonald was
named the league's top pitcher despite the Eck's
brilliant season (15-4, 10 SV, 1.13 ERA, 0.77 WHIP).
And let's not forget the 2000 season, when Pedro
Martinez was handed the award despite a
record-setting 86 relief points by Billy Wagner
(6-4, 41 SV, 2.46 ERA, 120 K in 80.3 IP). You ask me,
no self-respecting reliever would accept this award
after this much disrespect. As usual, the starters get
all the glory while the relievers do all the work.
If you are going to consider a reliever, though, you
have to start with Phoenix's Troy Percival
(4-2, 34 SV, 1.96 ERA, 9.6 R/9), who won the Eck with
69 relief points. Percival tied for the league lead in
saves and tied for second in save percentage (.872)...
Last year's Eck winner, Mariano Rivera (5-7, 34
SV, 2.03 ERA, 9.0 R/9), finished second with 66
points, shared the save title with Percival and also
tied him for second in save percentage (.872)... The
aforementioned Wagner (5-5, 32 SV, 1.63 ERA, 10.8 R/9)
posted the best ERA of any reliever with at least 20
IP and finished third in saves and relief points (63)
and fourth in save percentage (.842).
Others for consideration: Arkansas's Trevor
Hoffman (1-0, 16 SV, 3.00 ERA, 10.7 R/9) went
16-for-18 in save chances and allowed just 6 of 30
inherited runners to score. He would've led the league
in save percentage (.889) but didn't have enough
opportunities to qualify... The dynamic duo of
Keith Foulke (8-4, 18 SV, 2.74 ERA, 10.4 R/9)
and Arthur Rhodes (5-4, 13 SV, 2.77 ERA, 10.4
R/9) gave Newark one of the league's best bullpens and
helped them win their second straight World's
Championship... Brooklyn's Vladimir Nunez
(11-5, 8 SV, 3.61 ERA, 11.8 R/9) led the league in
relief wins and was tied for third in fewest inherited
runners allowed to score (.184), was fifth in
appearances (79) and eighth in winning percentage
(.688)... Wanaque's Antonio Alfonseca (10-1, 2
SV, 3.21 ERA, 11.4 R/9) would've ranked second in the
DMBL in winning percentage (.909) if he qualified; he
also finished third in games (82) and fourth in holds
(18).
Rod Beck was named 1994's top relief pitcher, going
12-6 with 11 saves, a 3.04 ERA and 113 K in 118.1 IP.
He retired after finally winning a World Series ring
with Newark in 2001, having pitched for four teams
over a DMBL career that spanned from 1993 to 2001,
racking up nearly 500 IP, 34 wins and 57 saves.
No Name? No Problem! Osvaldo Fernandez
Pitching Leaders
Wins |
1 | P.Martinez, ARK | 21-2 |
2 | Pineiro, HBK | 21-5 |
3 | Clemens, ARK | 20-8 |
4 | Brown, ARK | 19-7 |
5 | Johnson, NWK | 19-8 |
6 | Thomson, NWK | 18-6 |
7 | Buehrle, COL | 18-9 |
7t | Schilling, ARK | 18-9 |
9 | Milton, NWK | 18-11 |
10 | Mulder, HON | 17-8 |
Earned Run Average |
1 | Buehrle, COL | 2.32 |
2 | Pineiro, HBK | 2.76 |
3 | Penny, ARK | 3.02 |
4t | P.Martinez, ARK | 3.07 |
4t | Brown, ARK | 3.07 |
6 | Mays, BRK-VAN | 3.43 |
7 | Clemens, ARK | 3.44 |
7t | Johnson, NWK | 3.49 |
9 | Oswalt, HON | 3.53 |
10 | Leiter, ARK | 3.59 |
Baserunners Per 9 |
1 | Buehrle, COL | 9.2 |
2 | Mays, BRK-VAN | 10.2 |
3 | P.Martinez, ARK | 10.5 |
4 | Pineiro, HBK | 10.7 |
5t | Schilling, ARK | 10.8 |
5t | Burkett, NWK | 10.8 |
7 | Brown, ARK | 10.9 |
7t | Johnson, NWK | 11.0 |
9 | Thomson, NWK | 11.2 |
10 | Mussina, CAR-HBK | 11.3 |
Strikeouts |
1 | Johnson, NWK | 297 |
2 | P.Martinez, ARK | 259 |
3 | Schilling, ARK | 228 |
4 | Wood, STP | 224 |
5 | Mussina, CAR-HBK | 207 |
6 | Vazquez, TIJ | 200 |
7 | Clemens, ARK | 187 |
8 | Nomo, PHX | 186 |
9 | Oswalt, HON | 183 |
10 | Halladay, CAR | 180 |
Winning Percentage |
1 | P.Martinez, ARK | .913 |
2 | Pineiro, HBK | .808 |
3 | Thomson, NWK | .750 |
4 | Brown, ARK | .731 |
5 | Penny, ARK | .727 |
6 | Clemens, ARK | .714 |
7 | Johnson, NWK | .704 |
8 | Nunez, BRK | .688 |
9 | Lyon, VAN | .684 |
10 | Mulder, HON | .680 |
Innings Pitched |
1 | Schilling, ARK | 242.2 |
2 | Mulder, HON | 236.0 |
3 | Thomson, NWK | 234.2 |
4 | Mays, BRK-VAN | 231.0 |
5 | Maddux, VAN | 229.0 |
6 | Mussina, CAR-HBK | 227.0 |
7 | Garcia, HON | 225.1 |
8 | Milton, NWK | 225.0 |
9t | Buehrle, COL | 224.2 |
9t | Johnson, NWK | 224.2 |
Relief Points |
1 | Percival, PHXK | 69 |
2 | Rivera, STP | 66 |
3 | Wagner, VAN | 63 |
4t | Dotel, ARK | 57 |
4t | Fassero, TIJ | 57 |
4t | F.Rodriguez, BRK-NWK | 57 |
7 | Wickman, CAR | 54 |
8 | Urbina, HON | 52 |
9t | Isringhausen, HBK | 492 |
9t | Sasaki, WAN | 47 |
Saves |
1t | Percival, PHXK | 34 |
1t | Rivera, STP | 34 |
3 | Wagner, VAN | 32 |
4t | F.Rodriguez, BRK-NWK | 29 |
4t | Urbina, HON | 29 |
4t | Wickman, CAR | 29 |
7 | Isringhausen, HBK | 28 |
8 | Fassero, TIJ | 27 |
9t | Sasaki, WAN | 26 |
9t | Shaw, COL | 26 |
Every year, a few unheralded journeymen step up big
time in the DMBL. Although they quickly become known
to opposing batters, the McDonald Award voters will
often go for a big-name player over a 'whodat' with
better numbers -- not that I'm bitter about losing the
2001 McDonald Award to a guy who had four more losses,
a higher ERA and pitched for the league's most
powerful offense. No, I'm not bitter at all.
After a forgettable DMBL debut in 1999 with
Philadelphia (4-8, 5.73 ERA), Miguel Batista
was pitching mop-up for Columbia's Triple-A squad when
an injury to wonderkind Mark Buehrle got him
three starts -- and he was awful, going 0-2 with a
9.75 ERA. But he got another chance in mid-June after
the team gave up on Terry Adams (1-8, 6.06
ERA), and Batista turned around his season and perhaps
his career around by finally mastering a new pitch:
The knuckleball. Batista claimed a regular turn in the
rotation by pitching 17.1 consecutive scoreless
innings and winning seven straight starts; by the end
of the season, went 10-4 with a 2.89 ERA and 11.6 R/9.
He did get plenty of help, however: The team scored
him 5 runs per game, and the bullpen didn't allow
any of his 17 inherited runners to score.
Batista also lasted just over 5 innings per start, and
just 9 of his 18 games were quality starts, so he
didn't qualify for the leaderboard in most categories.
Nevertheless, Batista's brilliant half-season is one
of the most amazing turn-arounds in league history.
Last year, Brad Penny went 0-3 with a 7.02 ERA
during his rookie campaign, came out of spring
training as an afterthought at the end of a rotation
that featured four perennial McDonald Award
candidates. But the 24-year-old Penny (16-6, 3.02,
12.7) stepped up to rank third in the DMBL in ERA, tie
for third in quality start percentage (.688) and HR/9
(0.7), and finished fifth in winning percentage
(.727); he also was named to the All-Star team and as
the team's third starter in the post-season. His days
as a "no name" pitcher are likely over.
Newark pitching coach Mike Grace was a minor
league journeyman with one great year in the sun
(15-10, 3.91 ERA and the World Series MVP in '97), so
it's no surprise that his specialty is retooling old
warhorses. This year, two Triple-A veterans found
success under Grace's tutelage: John Thomson
(18-6, 3.91 ERA, 11.2 R/9) tied for first in complete
games (9) and shutouts (2) and was third in winning
percentage (.750) and innings (234.2), tied for sixth
in wins, and was ninth in R/9; John Burkett
(16-8, 3.75, 10.8) tied for fifth in R/9, but did his
best work in the post-season, going 3-0 with a 1.93
ERA and was named the World Series MVP.
In two years as a starter, Octavio Dotel went
16-12 with a 5.92 ERA and 1.68 WHIP, splitting his
time between Triple-A and the majors. Out of minor
league options and his with his "prospect" label
officially expired, Dotel was banished to bullpen duty
-- and he responded with one of the most dominating
performances of the season. Appearing in a
league-leading 90 games, Dotel went 9-4 with 24 saves,
7 holds, a 2.51 ERA and 11.5 R/9, struck out 173
batters in 140 IP and tied for fourth with 57 relief
points. Two other former starters -- Newark's John
Smoltz (2-1, 3 SV, 2.98 ERA, 10.4 R/9) and
Tijuana's Jeff Fassero (6-4, 27 SV, 3.32 ERA,
12.3 R/9) -- also enjoyed successful conversions to
the bullpen, and there's already talk in Tijuana of
trying the same experiment with failed phenom Eric
Gagne next year.
Although not a true rookie in 2001 -- he'd been
eligible for the DMBL five years earlier, but had
never signed -- Fernandez made a huge splash in his
first DMBL season by going 18-6 with a 3.41 ERA,
despite pitching for the woeful Harrison Rats. He
finished second in the McDonald Award voting by just
two points -- meaning if he'd picked up just one more
fourth-place vote, he'd have won it. Still several
years away from free agency, the 33-year-old Fernandez
held out the entire 2002 season rather than play for
the league minimum contract he signed in spring
training last year.
Have Gun, Will Travel Sid Fernandez
It's tough to draw serious consideration for an award
when your season totals are split between two teams.
Plus, who's going to vote for you? The fans from your
old team think you're a traitor, and the fans from
your new team don't know you yet. I won the coveted
McDonald Award in '94, but it wasn't easy: I had to
lead the league in innings, wins, winning percentage,
complete games, shutouts and baserunners per 9,
and I set a league record for ERA that still
stands today! If you don't dominate, you won't even
get consideration. However, I hope the voters will at
least look at the numbers put up by two wanderers this
season.
Joe Mays (16-15, 3.43 ERA, 10.2 R/9) got off to
a good start with Brooklyn (3.03 ERA, 9.5 R/9 in 154.2
IP), but went just 11-10 thanks to a miserable offense
that gave him just 3.0 runs per game. Dealt to the
Iron Fist, Mays got more support, but unraveled a bit
(5-5, 4.26, 11.5). Overall, he finished second in R/9,
fourth in innings (231.0), tied for fifth in H/9
(7.7), sixth in ERA and tied for ninth in quality
start percentage (.636).
A founding member of the Carolina Mudcats franchise,
Mike Mussina (14-12, 3.61, 11.3) went 9-9 with
a 3.76 ERA and 11.6 R/9 over the first two-thirds of
the season, then was shocked to get the news that he'd
been dealt to the Hoboken Cutters. Feeling betrayed,
the Moose finished the season even stronger, going 5-3
with a 3.26 ERA, 10.7 R/9 and racking up 64 Ks in 69
IP. Overall, Mussina finished tied for fourth in
quality start percentage (.667), fifth in strikeouts
(207), sixth in innings (227.0) and 10th in R/9.
Also consider Felix Rodriguez (4-5, 29 SV, 2.21
ERA, 8.6 R/9), who split his season between Brooklyn
and Newark. "F-Rod" led the league in save percentage
(.879) and finished tied for third in fewest inherited
runners allowed to score (.184), fourth in saves and
tied for fourth in relief points (57).
'El Sid' went 62-39 with a 3.23 ERA in five big
league seasons, famously splitting his great 1994
season between Sacramento (15-3, 1.75 ERA, 1.10 WHIP)
and Austin (7-2, 2.28 ERA, 0.95 WHIP). True to form,
he now splits his time as head coach of the Tijuana
Banditos and pitching coach of the Columbia
Rattlesnakes.
The Young Ones Ben McDonald
I guess everybody remembers that I won the very first
Most Valuable Pitcher award. But, as they say, 'did
you know' that I won it during my rookie campaign?
(Editor's note: It was the league's inaugural
season, so everyone was in one sense a 'rookie', but
McDonald was a true rookie in that 1991 was his first
year of DMBL eligibility.) I'm still the only
rookie to have ever won the prestigious award, but
that could change this season as two freshmen are
among the league's top candidates.
Columbia's Mark Buehrle (18-9, 2.32 ERA, 9.2
R/9), put up some of the league's best numbers despite
pitching for one of the league's worst teams, and
wound up starting the All-Star Game for the Morris
Division. The 76-86 Rattlesnakes, with the DMBL's
second-worst offense, gave him just 3.8 runs per game
-- tied for third-lowest in the league. In fact, the
offense scored him one run (or none) in 8 of his 9
losses! The league's third-worst bullpen didn't help
either, allowing nearly 42 percent of his inherited
runners to score, and closer Jeff Shaw directly
cost Buehrle three wins by coughing up late leads.
Despite it all, Buehrle still led the league in ERA,
R/9 and quality start percentage (.806); tied for
first in shutouts (2); was second in BB/9 (1.2); third
in slugging percentage allowed (.353); tied for third
in H/9 (7.6); tied for fifth in complete games (5);
tied for sixth in wins; and tied for ninth in innings
(224.2).
Joel Pineiro (21-5, 2.76 ERA, 10.7 R/9) had a
combined no-hitter in March, but his rookie campaign
only got better. Over the second half, Pineiro was
huge, going 11-2 with two shutouts and a 1.81 ERA,
including a streak of 25 consecutive scoreless
innings. For the year, he led the league in H/9 (6.7)
and slugging percentage allowed (.319) and tied for
first in wins, shutouts (2) and HR/9 (0.6), was second
in ERA and winning percentage (.808), fourth in R/9
(10.7), and tied for fifth in quality start percentage
(.667).
Also making strong first impressions: Hoboken's
Danys Baez (6-2, 2.81, 10.4, 4 SV, 16 holds);
Honolulu's Roy Oswalt (11-12, 3.53, 12.0);
Stanhope's Erik Hiljus (15-8, 4.14, 12.8);
Vancouver's Victor Zambrano (8-4, 2.97, 9.4,
107 K in 100 IP).
Big Ben lasted five years after his brilliant
rookie campaign, pitching for five different teams,
but no one could harness the raw talent he displayed
in 1991. He took one last turn in Arkansas's rotation
in 1998, going 3-1 with a 3.82 ERA, then retired. He's
now a special adviser to the commissioner's
office.
Voting for the Veterans Nolan Ryan
I was 44 years old when I won my McDonald Award back
in '92, so don't blame me if I pull for the
old-timers. You can't talk about dominating pitchers
without looking at these guys, who would love to take
another McDonald Award with them on their way to the
DMBL Hall of Fame on Route 10 in East Hanover.
Last year's award winner, Randy Johnson (19-8,
3.49 ERA, 11.0 R/9) may have had an even better
campaign in '02: He had more wins and a higher winning
percentage while allowing fewer runs and fewer
baserunners. This season, Johnson led the league in
strikeouts (297) and K/9 (11.9); tied for third in H/9
(7.6); was fourth in lowest slugging percentage
allowed (.367) and tied for fourth in wins; was
seventh in winning percentage (.704); was eighth in
ERA and R/9; and tied for ninth in innings (224.2).
The league's only three-time winner -- and he did it
with a three-peat -- Greg Maddux looked like
his glory days were long behind him: On June 1, he was
a rather pedestrian 6-5 with a 4.72 ERA. But Mad Dog
saved his season with a strong second half, going 9-4
with a 3.22 ERA, with quality starts in 14 of 16
games, to finish at 15-9 with a 3.97 ERA and 11.4 R/9.
Maddux led the league in BB/9 (0.9) and K:BB (5.71)
and was fifth in innings (229.0) and tied for fifth in
quality start percentage (.667)... His teammate, Al
Leiter (15-11, 3.59, 11.6), tied for first in HR/9
(0.6) and shutouts (2) and was 10th in ERA.
Pedro Martinez (21-2, 3.07 ERA, 10.5 R/9) won
the award two years ago and shared it in '99, but
this may have been his most impressive season yet. He
set the league record in winning percentage (.913) --
in fact, the Golden Falcons lost just four
times in his 32 starts! Over the second half,
Martinez was huge, going 14-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 118
Ks. He was first in winning percentage and tied for
first in both wins and shutouts (2); was second in
strikeouts (259), quality start percentage (.719) and
slugging percentage allowed (.352); third in R/9, K/9
(10.7) and K:BB (4.89); and tied for fourth in ERA.
The other two guys in the Arkansas rotation, both
former McDonald Award winners, weren't slouches
either, Kevin Brown (19-7, 3.07, 10.9) tied for
third in quality start percentage (.688) and was
fourth in winning percentage (.731), tied for fourth
in ERA and wins, and was seventh in R/9... Roger
Clemens (20-8, 3.44, 12.5) ranked third in wins,
sixth in winning percentage (.714), seventh in ERA and
strikeouts (187), tied for seventh in complete games
(4) and was eighth in quality start percentage (.645).
Although he's never won the award before, Curt
Schilling has come close before and this year will
likely come close again. Schilling (18-9, 3.82 ERA,
10.8 R/9) was the Golden Falcons' iron man, leading
the league in innings (242.2) and tied for first in
complete games (9). He also ranked second in K:BB
(5.56), third in Ks (228), tied for third in BB/9
(1.5), fifth in K/9 (8.5), tied for fifth in R/9, tied
for sixth in wins, and tied for 10th in winning
percentage (.667). Other established stars who had
strong campaigns: Carolina's Tim Hudson (13-12,
3.84 ERA, 11.9 R/9) and Barry Zito (8-7, 4.43,
13.9); Honolulu's Freddy Garcia (12-9, 3.67,
11.5) and Mark Mulder (17-8, 4.81, 12.4);
Newark's Eric Milton (18-11, 3.88, 11.4).
Nolan Ryan was 33-11 with a 2.66 ERA in three DMBL
seasons. A two-time All-Star, Ryan won the 1992
McDonald Award after going 19-4 with a 1.94 ERA,
striking out 301 in 227 IP. He's still "pitching" --
as a celebrity spokesman, endorsing Advil, Southwest
Airlines, Wrangler Jeans and, of course, OmahaSteaks.com.
Previous McDonald Award Winners |
year | pitcher | team | W-L | ERA | WHIP | IP | H | BB | K |
2001 | Randy Johnson | NWK | 18-10 | 3.58 | 1.41 | 221.0 | 227 | 85 | 308 |
2000 | Pedro Martinez | ARK | 22- 7 | 2.51 | 1.10 | 251.1 | 225 | 51 | 347 |
1999 | Pedro Martinez | ARK | 20- 7 | 3.10 | 1.20 | 223.2 | 199 | 69 | 225 |
(tie) | Kevin Brown | ARK | 20- 7 | 3.26 | 1.24 | 243.0 | 245 | 56 | 255 |
1998 | Greg Maddux | VAN | 26- 4 | 2.49 | 1.07 | 260.0 | 246 | 33 | 188 |
1997 | Greg Maddux | VAN | 22- 4 | 3.30 | 1.16 | 267.2 | 240 | 41 | 176 |
1996 | Greg Maddux | VAN | 23- 7 | 2.70 | 1.04 | 260.0 | 238 | 32 | 226 |
1994 | Sid Fernandez | * | 22- 5 | 1.91 | 1.05 | 268.2 | 199 | 84 | 176 |
1993 | Roger Clemens | AUS | 18- 5 | 2.32 | 1.23 | 233.0 | 234 | 52 | 186 |
1992 | Nolan Ryan | AUS | 19- 4 | 1.94 | 1.22 | 227.0 | 154 | 123 | 301 |
1991 | Ben McDonald | ARK | 17- 8 | 2.69 | 1.22 | 227.2 | 199 | 79 | 118 |
*Fernandez split the 1994 season between the Sacramento Seahawks and the Austin Outlaws. |
|