I haven't written a post about how awesome Clayton Kershaw is since October. I took a personal day today and Kershaw was dominant again last night (when the team really needed it after the bullpen pitched 12 innings the day before), so it seemed like the right time.
Here's his May so far: 5 starts, 5-0, 42 innings, 0.64 ERA, 0.52 WHIP, 55 strikeouts, 2 walks, 20 hits allowed, 3 shutouts, .144 batting average against, .156 on base against, .173 slugging against. The five games he started have lasted a total of 11 hours and 11 minutes (which would be pretty fast for four games). Jake Arrieta is off to a great start also, but Kershaw beats him in most statistical categories. I'm hoping Kershaw wins another Cy Young.
I was thinking about how Kershaw of 4.32 after his start on May 21, 2015. So here's what he's done in the last 364 days (from his next start last year to last night, including playoffs): 36 starts, 22-6, 267 innings, 1.48 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 342 strikeouts, 36 walks, 161 hits allowed, 7 complete games, 6 shutouts, and I'm not figuring out the batting against numbers (Baseball-Reference did it for me for his May numbers).
For comparison, here's Arrieta's starts during that same time period: 36 starts, 28-3, 253.2 innings, 1.53 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 265 strikeouts, 58 walks, 148 hits allowed, 6 complete games, 5 shutouts.
Arrieta has been completely ridiculous, and Kershaw is better in everything except for won-lost record (not his fault, obviously), and hits allowed.
The great Vin Scully has mistakenly called Kershaw "Sandy Koufax" a few times this year. He did it against the Mets without noticing. And he did it again last night twice, but caught himself both times. The thing is, it's not that ridiculous (at least for the regular season).
Here's what Sandy Koufax did his last six years: 211 starts, 129-47, 1632.2 innings, 2.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 1713 strikeouts, 115 complete games, 35 shutouts, 6.5 hits per 9, 9.4 strikeouts per 9, 4.16 strikeouts per walk.
Here's what Kershaw has done in the last six years (a stretch that began 50 years later, when Kershaw was two years younger than Koufax was throughout his stretch): 169 starts, 95-34, 1207 innings, 2.07 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 1344 strikeouts, 23 complete games, 14 shutouts, 6.4 hits per 9, 10 strikeouts per 9, 5.44 strikeouts per walk.
A few things to note. We're less than halfway through the sixth season of that stretch for Kershaw. Koufax pitched with a four-man rotation and pitchers don't finish games today the way they did back then. So Kershaw has no chance to catch him in innings, strikeouts, complete games, or shutouts. And hitters do strike out a lot more today than back then. But It's amazing how close the rest of those numbers are. We might very well be talking about the two best left handed pitchers of the last 60 years.
The other lefty that deserves consideration is Randy Johnson. Now Randy Johnson had much greater longevity than Sandy Koufax. He also wasn't nearly as good at a young age as Koufax and Kershaw. So if Kershaw can stick around, I think he'll clearly have Johnson beat. Johnson had some good seasons early in his career, but I think his first great one didn't come until he was 31 (Kershaw is 28 right now). I would say that Johnson's best six-year run was 1999-2004 (starting when he was 35, which is pretty crazy). Here is what he did during those years: 192 starts, 103-49, 1389.2 innings, 2.65 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 1832 strikeouts, 36 complete games, 14 shutouts, 7.1 hits per 9, 11.9 strikeouts per 9, 5.10 strikeouts per walk. Now Randy Johnson was pitching when it was still the Steroid Era, so you have to cut him a little slack for an ERA that is really good, but not all that close to Koufax and Kershaw.
I have Koufax as the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time for two reasons. You can't convince me that there was anybody better when he was at his best and he was ridiculous in the World Series (7 starts, 57 innings, 0.95 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 61 strikeouts, 11 walks, 36 hits allowed, 4 complete games, 2 shutouts). Johnson was also great in the World Series, but he only had 17.1 World Series innings. From 1998-2001, he was great in the playoffs, but 1995 was the only other year that he was good in the playoffs. I can see making the argument for Randy Johnson based on how great he was for a long period of time (which you definitely can't say for Koufax). But if Kershaw has something like eight more great years (like close to what he's been for the last six years, which is possible but far from a certainty), he's probably going to be considered the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, at least in the regular season. Hopefully he'll soon have a run in the playoffs like Randy Johnson had in 2001 to help his case even more.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Hi, I went to Delaware
It took me until May to get to a baseball game this year. In the last 11 years, I've been to at least one April game every year except for 2011 (when my first game was Dodgers-Mets on May 6). I had the four-day weekend for Ascension Thursday and took my nearly-annual Ascension Thursday trip. In 2012, I went to San Diego. I was in school on Ascension Thursday in 2013 to make up days because of Hurricane Sandy. In 2014, I went to Toronto. And last year, I went to Birmingham and Cincinnati. So this year, I went to ... wait for it ... Wilmington, Delaware! Why? Well, I'm nearly done with Major League stadiums and it's unclear whether I'll get to the two I haven't gotten to yet (Oakland and Tampa Bay), it was just a train ride away, and Delaware might have been the most questionable state as to whether or not I should get credit for have been to. I had been thinking about that. Of the 47 states I've been to, there were 14 that I had never spent a night in (in blue on this map). So let's go through those states:
Mississippi and West Virginia are probably the least questionable. I just went to both to see historic sites and spent several hours in both. There are several states that I've been to where eating a meal is pretty much the only thing I've done: New Hampshire (a year before the blog, but I also drove through it again on the way to Maine), Wyoming, Oregon, and Maine. I saw Mickey Mantle's house in Oklahoma and then drove north through Kansas and stopped at the place that inspired the movie Cars. I made a point of going to a Gulf War memorial in Nebraska and then drove north through South Dakota and stopped at a winery last summer. I've driven through Rhode Island a few times in recent years. I think the only time I've every actually spent time in the state was when I went with my brothers when they visited Providence in 1995 (I'm pretty sure we went right to Boston from there and didn't spend a night). So that one is getting a little questionable. I might take a trip there this season for a Pawtucket Red Sox game. That leaves Kentucky, Tennessee, and Delaware. Wilhelm, Jon, Dennis, Chris, and I drove through Kentucky and Tennessee on our way to and from the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech game in 2006. We stopped at an Arby's in Kentucky on the way there and Dennis was fascinated by the accent of the cashier. And we stopped somewhere in Tennessee to eat on the way back (it might have been a Waffle House, but I think we went to a Waffle House in Georgia, so I don't remember). And it took probably a couple of hours to drive through both of those states. So they might be a little bit questionable, but I'm counting them. But as for Delaware, I had only been there on my way to and from other places (usually Washington, DC). I had probably been to a rest stop or two in Delaware, but I had never really done anything in the state. So I was off and I hadn't been to a baseball game yet this season, so why not Delaware. I thought of this Wayne's World clip:
I got in to Wilmington around 2:30. The game was at 6:30. So I killed some time by walking around by the Christina River. Then I went to the Iron Hill Brewery, which wasn't far from Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. I had a Dunkelweizen and a turkey burger. I would have liked to have tried more of their beer, but I wasn't looking to drink too much. The beer and the food were solid. After that, I walked around a little more and then headed to the stadium shortly after the gates opened at 5:30.
The Wilmington Blue Rocks play high-A ball in the Carolina league. They're an affiliate of the Royals. They were taking on a Cubs' affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The stadium is small. You don't have the 360 degree concourse. But you do have a great beer selection for the minor leagues. Seriously, they had a better beer selection than some Major League stadiums (I'm looking at you, Yankee Stadium). And there was a pretty good food selection too. Even though it was 55 degrees, I resisted the temptation to get a Summer Ale on tap. I got a Copperhead Ale from the Fordham and Dominion Brewing Company, which is located in Dover. I figured if I was going to be in Delaware, I should get a Delaware beer that I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to drink. It was no Summer Ale (nothing is), but it was quite good and I would definitely drink it again if I saw it anywhere. And to eat, I got crab fries from Chickie's and Pete's.
Wilmington scored two in the first and two in the seventh. They won 4-0. Their starter pitched eight and gave up six hits, no walks, and had 11 strikeouts. Pretty impressive performance. The game only took two hours and 16 minutes and allegedly there were 3,919 people in attendance. Capacity is 6,404. There is no way that it was more than half full. I'm saying the real attendance was 1,000-2,000.
After the game, I walked back to the train station and I got home around 1:30 in the morning. So I still haven't spent a night in Delaware, but I made a point of going there. I hope to get to some other nearby minor league games this year. So far, I think I've been to minor league games at eight different stadiums (seven affiliated teams, one independent team. One was G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, where the Potomac Cannons (now Potomac Nationals) play, back in 2003. I don't really remember that too much, but let's rank the other seven:
7. Dehler Park in Billings. It was a cool location and there was some really good food. But it was a rookie ball park and everything about it said rookie ball. It was small and you had goofy things going on between innings (which every minor league park has, but this was the goofiest). I'm ranking it last, but it wasn't bad (unlike US Cellular Field, which is just bad).
6. Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. It was named baseballpark.com's 2008 Ballpark of the Year, but it really wasn't anything all that special. Pretty good beer selection, not much of a food selection. It was fine, but I liked several others more.
5. Memorial Stadium in Boise. It's old and set up differently than every other minor league ballpark I've been to. There really is no concourse where you can see the field. The seats go up higher than other minor league ballparks (which I liked). But the food and beer were very good (the selection of Idaho beers I had was outstanding).
4. Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. No 360 degree concourse, but it had a solid food and beer selection. And it had a Maury Wills Museum and the field had the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium.
3. Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. It's the biggest minor league stadium I've been to. I loved the Simpsons theme, but long lines were an issue, which was disappointing considering the stadium was only a little more than half full.
2. Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The only drawback was the lack of a 360 degree concourse. But food and beverage options were outstanding and quick and easy (I guess it helped that the crowd was so small).
1. Regions Field in Birmingham. It was a little bit of a funky stadium, but it had a great crowd and a great beer selection. Very solid.
Mississippi and West Virginia are probably the least questionable. I just went to both to see historic sites and spent several hours in both. There are several states that I've been to where eating a meal is pretty much the only thing I've done: New Hampshire (a year before the blog, but I also drove through it again on the way to Maine), Wyoming, Oregon, and Maine. I saw Mickey Mantle's house in Oklahoma and then drove north through Kansas and stopped at the place that inspired the movie Cars. I made a point of going to a Gulf War memorial in Nebraska and then drove north through South Dakota and stopped at a winery last summer. I've driven through Rhode Island a few times in recent years. I think the only time I've every actually spent time in the state was when I went with my brothers when they visited Providence in 1995 (I'm pretty sure we went right to Boston from there and didn't spend a night). So that one is getting a little questionable. I might take a trip there this season for a Pawtucket Red Sox game. That leaves Kentucky, Tennessee, and Delaware. Wilhelm, Jon, Dennis, Chris, and I drove through Kentucky and Tennessee on our way to and from the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech game in 2006. We stopped at an Arby's in Kentucky on the way there and Dennis was fascinated by the accent of the cashier. And we stopped somewhere in Tennessee to eat on the way back (it might have been a Waffle House, but I think we went to a Waffle House in Georgia, so I don't remember). And it took probably a couple of hours to drive through both of those states. So they might be a little bit questionable, but I'm counting them. But as for Delaware, I had only been there on my way to and from other places (usually Washington, DC). I had probably been to a rest stop or two in Delaware, but I had never really done anything in the state. So I was off and I hadn't been to a baseball game yet this season, so why not Delaware. I thought of this Wayne's World clip:
I got in to Wilmington around 2:30. The game was at 6:30. So I killed some time by walking around by the Christina River. Then I went to the Iron Hill Brewery, which wasn't far from Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. I had a Dunkelweizen and a turkey burger. I would have liked to have tried more of their beer, but I wasn't looking to drink too much. The beer and the food were solid. After that, I walked around a little more and then headed to the stadium shortly after the gates opened at 5:30.
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| I haven't reviewed anything on Yelp in years, but I'd give it four stars. |
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| Outside the stadium |
The Wilmington Blue Rocks play high-A ball in the Carolina league. They're an affiliate of the Royals. They were taking on a Cubs' affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The stadium is small. You don't have the 360 degree concourse. But you do have a great beer selection for the minor leagues. Seriously, they had a better beer selection than some Major League stadiums (I'm looking at you, Yankee Stadium). And there was a pretty good food selection too. Even though it was 55 degrees, I resisted the temptation to get a Summer Ale on tap. I got a Copperhead Ale from the Fordham and Dominion Brewing Company, which is located in Dover. I figured if I was going to be in Delaware, I should get a Delaware beer that I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to drink. It was no Summer Ale (nothing is), but it was quite good and I would definitely drink it again if I saw it anywhere. And to eat, I got crab fries from Chickie's and Pete's.
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| This was my view for the first few innings. I moved down and closer toward third after a few innings. |
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| This seat remains unoccupied in honor of more than 92,000 unaccounted for American soldiers since World War I. That's a nice job by Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. |
Wilmington scored two in the first and two in the seventh. They won 4-0. Their starter pitched eight and gave up six hits, no walks, and had 11 strikeouts. Pretty impressive performance. The game only took two hours and 16 minutes and allegedly there were 3,919 people in attendance. Capacity is 6,404. There is no way that it was more than half full. I'm saying the real attendance was 1,000-2,000.
After the game, I walked back to the train station and I got home around 1:30 in the morning. So I still haven't spent a night in Delaware, but I made a point of going there. I hope to get to some other nearby minor league games this year. So far, I think I've been to minor league games at eight different stadiums (seven affiliated teams, one independent team. One was G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, where the Potomac Cannons (now Potomac Nationals) play, back in 2003. I don't really remember that too much, but let's rank the other seven:
7. Dehler Park in Billings. It was a cool location and there was some really good food. But it was a rookie ball park and everything about it said rookie ball. It was small and you had goofy things going on between innings (which every minor league park has, but this was the goofiest). I'm ranking it last, but it wasn't bad (unlike US Cellular Field, which is just bad).
6. Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. It was named baseballpark.com's 2008 Ballpark of the Year, but it really wasn't anything all that special. Pretty good beer selection, not much of a food selection. It was fine, but I liked several others more.
5. Memorial Stadium in Boise. It's old and set up differently than every other minor league ballpark I've been to. There really is no concourse where you can see the field. The seats go up higher than other minor league ballparks (which I liked). But the food and beer were very good (the selection of Idaho beers I had was outstanding).
4. Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo. No 360 degree concourse, but it had a solid food and beer selection. And it had a Maury Wills Museum and the field had the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium.
3. Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. It's the biggest minor league stadium I've been to. I loved the Simpsons theme, but long lines were an issue, which was disappointing considering the stadium was only a little more than half full.
2. Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The only drawback was the lack of a 360 degree concourse. But food and beverage options were outstanding and quick and easy (I guess it helped that the crowd was so small).
1. Regions Field in Birmingham. It was a little bit of a funky stadium, but it had a great crowd and a great beer selection. Very solid.
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