The Cleveland Indians’ pitching has been excellent early this season. Entering play Monday, Cleveland’s starters led the majors in WAR (5.20), according to data from Baseball-Reference.com, and in ERA (2.96). But beyond the rotation’s strong showing, what’s noteworthy is how the majority of the group’s best performers were acquired: in the same draft class. In […]
The Nationals ended a 95-year World Series drought in Washington, D.C., by employing a different type of road map than that of most MLB champions this century. The blueprint? Consolidate dollars and postseason innings into the best pitchers you can sign. As free agency gets underway, there are elite arms available, including two main cogs […]
The only time a baseball team based in Washington, D.C. won the World Series, the great Senators pitcher Walter Johnson was on the mound. Johnson — who would go on to be part of the first Hall of Fame class — was still effective at age 36, winning 23 games in 1924, and would be […]
Bullpens have eroded the workload of starting pitchers for years. By keeping a close watch on pitch counts and increasingly specializing their pitching staffs, teams have consistently reduced how long starting pitchers work into games. This regular season, bullpens accounted for the greatest share of workload in MLB history: 42.1 percent of innings pitched, up […]
Over the years, bullpens have eroded the workloads of starting pitchers. This season, relievers have accounted for the greatest share of pitching workload in Major League Baseball history: They have completed 41.1 percent of total innings through Wednesday, up from last year’s record of 40 percent. There are a variety of reasons for this trend, […]