Every baseball fan knows about his legendary power with the bat (714 HR and .690 SLG!) but his prowess on the mound is often overlooked.

The Babe debuted for the Boston Red Sox in 1914 as a left-handed starting pitcher.  During his first two seasons, he compiled a 20-9 record over 36 games pitched.

In 1916, Ruth produced one of the greatest seasons by an American League left-handed starting pitcher in history.  He posted a 23-12 record, 1.75 ERA (158 ERA+), 9 SHO, and zero HR allowed in 323 2/3 IP.

Ruth pitched one of the greatest games in World Series history.  The left-hander twirled a 14-inning CG victory in Game 2 of the 1916 allowing only 6H/ 1ER/ 3BB/ 4K.  Ironically, the only run allowed came on a first-inning HR to Hi Myers of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The following season, the Babe completed another stellar campaign on the mound finishing with a 24-13 record, 2.01 ERA, and 1.08 WHIP with a stunning 35 CG in 38 starts.

Most notably, the left-hander extended his record of pitching 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings during the 1918 World Series.  The record would stand for almost 50 years until Whitey Ford eclipsed the mark.

Following the 1919 season, the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000.  This chain of events would forever change baseball history.  The Babe became the “Sultan of Swat” crushing a mind-boggling 59 home runs in 1920 while becoming a full-time outfielder.

Unquestionably, The Babe would have completed a HOF career as a starting pitcher but his hitting exploits were too magnificent to leave on the bench.

Next time someone tries to tell you that someone other than Babe Ruth is the best player of all-time, cite these statistics:  94-46 record (3-0 in 3 WS starts), 2.28 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP and BTW, 714 HR/ .342 AVG/ .474 OBP/ .690 SLG%.

Happy Birthday Babe.

Addie Joss

Every 10,000 MLB games perfection happens.

Since 1876, there have been 200,070 games played in Major League Baseball and on only 20 occasions has a pitcher achieved the immortality of a perfect game.

Some of the greatest pitchers in history have tossed a flawless game, including Hall Of Famers Cy Young (1904), Addie Joss (1908), Jim Bunning (1964), Sandy Koufax (1965), and Catfish Hunter (1968).

Lee Richmond (1880) of the Worcester Ruby Legs hurled the first perfect game in MLB history.  The game featured an unusual 9-3 putout to preserve the masterpiece.  Five days later, John Montgomery Ward (1880) hurled the second perfect game for the Providence Grays.  Amazingly, it would take 84 years for the next National League pitcher to achieve perfection.

Don Larsen pitched the only post-season perfecto in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The right-hander completed his MLB career posting an 81-91 record, 3.78 ERA, 1.40 WHIP.  Larsen’s gem is often regarded as the greatest game ever pitched.

Charles Robertson (1922) is the least likely candidate to throw a perfect game.  The right-hander accomplished the feat for the Chicago White Sox in only his fifth MLB start.  Robertson compiled a lifetime 49-80 record, 4.44 ERA, and 1.51 WHIP over eight seasons.

In the past 30 seasons alone, there have been eleven perfect games.

Roy Halladay (2010), Dallas Braden (2010), Mark Buehrle (2009), Randy Johnson (2004), David Cone (1999), David Wells (1998), Kenny Rogers (1994), Dennis Martinez (1991), Tom Browning (1988), Mike Witt (1984), and Len Barker (1981) round out the twenty greatest games ever pitched in MLB history.

There have been ten additional occasions in which a pitcher has retired the first 26 batters before surrendering a base runner to end the bid of perfection. The last occurrence famously involved Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers in 2010.

Harvey Haddix, stunned, after losing his perfect game and no-hitter in the 13th inning. Haddix got the loss.

Harvey Haddix and Pedro Martinez are the only two pitchers ever to take a perfect game into extra-innings.  Unfortunately, these two amazing performances are not considered official perfect games in the record books.

There have been perfect games authored 5 days apart, 23 days apart, and 34 years apart.

Regardless, this special feat has the chance to occur every time you walk through the turnstile at the nearest ballpark cathedral. Otherwise, when the pitcher gives up a leadoff single to start the game, you can say, “there goes the perfect game”.

Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down. Baseball Immortality.

The "Big Three"

I’m reminiscing about Mark Mulder this afternoon. Thanks to today’s retirement of Pat Burrell, who was selected one pick ahead of Mulder in the 1998 amateur draft, I’m thinking fondly of his somewhat brief, but very successful stint as a member of the Oakland A’s.

Mulder was famous for being part of Oakland’s “Big Three” with Tim Hudson and Barry Zito. The trio formed the backbone of one of the best starting rotations of all time. They helped the A’s make the playoffs in four straight seasons, 2000-2003, and helped create the widely popular, yet widely misunderstood “Moneyball” culture in today’s game.

The “Big Three” took turns leading the American League in wins during that time. Hudson led with 20 wins in 2000, Mulder with 21 in 2001, and Zito with 23 in 2003. Zito was the only of the three to win the Cy Young Award (in 2002), although it’s quite clear that Pedro Martinez was a better pitcher that season. However, in 2001, Roger Clemens was given the Cy Young trophy, when the trophy belonged to either Mark Mulder, Freddy Garcia, or Mike Mussina.

Cy Young Awards aside, there was no debating that Mulder was a special pitcher. The former Michigan State left-hander led the AL in Complete Games twice and Shutouts twice. From ’01-’03, he pitched brilliantly, keeping his WHIP around 1.15 and his ERAs under 3.50, no easy task in the Steroid Era.

Mark Mulder

Mulder used a variety of pitches and excellent control to make him successful. He started with a 2-seam fastball around 90 mph with good movement. After getting ahead of hitters, “Fox” would then go to his biting cutter/slider pitch. He could get inside on RHs with the cutter, or spin it away from LHs. He released the ball from a 3/4 arm angle, but could still get on top of a good 11 to 5 curveball that buckled knees and dropped under bats. To neutralize RHs, Mulder would work in a soft changeup that he controlled well. And finally, his strikeout pitch was a splitter that he tried to locate down in the zone.

[2-seam fastball(87-92), cutter(81-86), changeup(78-82), curve(67-74), splitter(82-86)]

His strikeout rate was average, but his walk rates were excellent. I always felt like each of his pitches was equally effective due to his plus control.

Unfortunately for Mark, major shoulder surgery ended his career early. Mulder threw his last pitch in the major leagues as a St. Louis Cardinal at age 30.

On the surface, signing Roy Oswalt to a one-year deal sounds like the steal of this Hot Stove winter. However, that low level of commitment is likely related to Roy having battled issues with his back last season.

Oswalt posted the highest single-season WHIP of his career in 2011 and will be out to prove that he is healthy and can pitch effectively again.

Roy saw a significant drop in his fastball velocity last year, often sitting at around 88-91 mph, a far cry from the low to mid-90s fastball we’re accustomed to seeing from him.

Oswalt also made just 23 starts, thanks to his back issues, his lowest total since he started 21 games in 2003.

This perceived decline could simply have to do with one summer of pitching with a bad back. But it could also have to do with his age and his body is simply breaking down.

We don’t even know if Oswalt [fastball(88-94), curve(62-77), slider(81-86), changeup(79-83)] is fully recovered and healthy, but the fact that one of the best pitchers of the last decade remains a free agent is certainly telling. I believe that teams simply don’t trust his health situation.

Oliver Perez

I guess it’s old news…. If you are left-handed and can reach home plate with a baseball, someone will give you a shot at a pitching job.

I nearly fell out of my uncomfortable yellow computer chair when I saw this on the MLB transaction list a few days ago….

• 1/18/12 – Seattle Mariners signed free agent LHP Oliver Perez.

Oliver Perez!?!? It’s the old attempt at “catching lightning in a bottle” I guess, whatever that means. I’m a New York Mets fan, so I can tell you, Mr. Jack Zduriencik, that Oliver is finished. Don’t waste your time and sour your spring training clubhouse. This is the same guy that the Mets left to rot in the bullpen for weeks at a time between appearances. He refused minor league assignments while his WHIP was over 2.00 and was as big a factor as any in Omar Minaya’s firing.

Ron Mahay

Or how about this doozy….

• 1/13/12 – Cincinnati Reds signed free agent LHP Ron Mahay.

Ha! Mahay? He’ll turn 41 this year and will still be looking for his first good season as a major leaguer. OK, that’s a little harsh. He did put together two straight solid years for the Texas Rangers in 2003 and 2004.

The list goes on. Names like John Grabow, Brian Burres, Rich Hill, Matt Chico, Aaron Laffey, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Hideki Okajima will grace the pitching mounds of MLB’s spring training facilities.

Then, there are the guys that signed guaranteed multi-million dollar contracts….

Chris Capuano is guaranteed $10M from the Los Angeles Dodgers over the next two years. Capuano threw 186 innings in 33 games (31 starts), posting a 1.35 WHIP and 4.55 ERA for the Mets last year to earn his new contract. Prior to that, he missed almost three full seasons of baseball after undergoing TWO Tommy John surgeries.

Bruce Chen is another shocker. He’ll be making $9M over the next two seasons from the Kansas City Royals. This is not a new guy named Bruce Chen, this is the same one that has been around since 1998 and has a career WHIP of almost 1.40.

Dontrelle Willis

Here are some more left-handed signatures written on contracts that I simply don’t understand….

• Paul Maholm – 1 year, $4.75M, Chicago Cubs
• Darren Oliver – 1 year, $4M, Toronto
• George Sherrill – 1 year, $1.1M, Seattle
• Dontrelle Willis – 1 year, $850K, Philadelphia
• J.C. Romero – 1 year, $750K, St. Louis

It’s hard to believe that these guys wouldn’t be easily replaced by a cheaper alternative.

Then there are the budget busters, C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle. These two signed for a total of $135.5M over nine combined seasons. Buehrle will enter 2012 at 33 years of age, while Wilson will play the season at 31. These deals could get pretty ugly in a few years.

Buehrle’s soft-tossing style leaves him constantly toeing the line between being effective and allowing 300 hits in a season. Basically, his production comes down to the fact that he quick-pitches hitters and is allowed to get away with it.

Jamie Moyer, changeup grip

Wilson is a late-blooming converted reliever that may have to prove his durability in the next few seasons. He has thrown over 200 innings in each of the last two years, but before that he hadn’t even eclipsed the 100 inning mark since he threw 106.3 frames in 2005.

Then there is Jamie Moyer, who is in a class by himself. Moyer turns 50 years old in November but will still be reporting to Colorado Rockies spring training camp. He is also making a comeback from Tommy John surgery. It’s hard to imagine Moyer in a bullpen role, so expect the Rockies to give him a legitimate shot at breaking camp with their young rotation. That is, of course, if he can still reach home plate with his fastball.

Click here to sign the petition on fightforthefuture.org.

Here’s what Google has to say.

Sports-Reference has blacked out their logo today in protest.

The pitcher must have competed in the Modern Era (since 1900) and thrown a minimum of 200 IP.  Utilizing the advanced metric ERA+, the top pitching seasons will be considered in this assessment.

After identifying the potential seasons, WHIP and WAR will be utilized to nominate the greatest pitching season EVER.

To simplify matters, I will use only one season per pitcher and the Top 5 ERA+ will be nominated for the honor of best season EVER.  *Pedro, Maddux, Johnson listed twice.

*1995 Maddux season is better despite the lower ERA+.

I used a 5-4-3-2-1 points system and ranked the pitchers in each of our three categories.  The final tally ranked Pedro Martinez’ 2000 season as the greatest pitching year EVER according to the analysis.

Hiroki Kuroda

After the New York Yankees finalize their trade for Mariners‘ right-hander, Michael Pineda, and dot the I’s on the Hiroki Kuroda contract, general manager Brian Cashman will suddenly have a very crowded starting rotation.

Cashman has already re-signed Freddy Garcia to a one-year deal. He also owns A.J. Burnett and his overpriced contract. Phil Hughes, the wonder kid, is still around and the Yankees continue to say he will be in their rotation in 2012. Don’t forget Ivan Nova, who was able to win 16 games last season despite some very average ratios. And of course, C.C. Sabathia will still be the ace of the staff.

Yesterday’s Projected Rotation | Today’s Projected Rotation

1. C.C. Sabathia | C.C. Sabathia
2. Ivan Nova | Hiroki Kuroda
3. Phil Hughes | Michael Pineda
4. A.J. Burnett | Ivan Nova
5. Freddy Garcia | Phil Hughes

Kuroda is a very underrated veteran. Despite being a bit injury prone, he has always kept his ERAs under 3.80 and has excellent control. He’ll turn 37 years old in a couple of weeks but has never shown any loss in velocity.

Michael Pineda

Pineda is the real steal here. He is huge (6’7″, 260lbs). He’s young (23 years old). He throws gas (95 mph average fastball approx.). He has excellent control (2.9 BB/9). The only fear with Pineda is, like with any pitcher, injury. The arm action in his delivery looks a bit scary, but he also opens up his chest to the batter a little early, which puts more stress on his arm, rather than his body.

To make room for these two, Burnett may be on his way out of town. It was no secret that the Yankees were trying to deal him at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. The problem is that Burnett is owed $33 million over 2012 and 2013. If Cashman can somehow find a taker, my guess is that the Yanks would accept any type of minor league fodder to replace him.

Meanwhile, Garcia is a good piece to keep in the bullpen until he is needed to fill in for injury.

Moving Hughes back into the bullpen is another option, but I believe they should give the two-time Yankees Minor League Player of the Year another chance at a full season in the rotation.

Options in the starting rotation are a rare thing for a GM to have this time of year.

Jack Morris, showing a splitter grip, his signature pitch.

This year’s class of eligible pitchers is less than stellar.  There are only four pitchers listed on the BBWAA official ballot: Jack Morris, Lee Smith, Brad Radke, and Terry Mulholland.

RHP Jack Morris is best known for pitching a 10-inning masterpiece in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series against the Atlanta Braves.  The right-hander compiled a lifetime 254-186 record, 3.90 ERA, 2478 K over his 18-year career.  This is his 13^th year on the ballot and next year is stocked with “Steroid Era” players making their HOF ballot debut, so he’s running out of time.

• Big game pitcher for three different World Series champions. Borderline HOF at best.

RHP Lee Smith is best known for establishing an MLB record 478 Saves over his 18-year career upon retiring in 1997 (Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman have since passed him).

• Very good closer that led the league is saves four times. Compiler.

RHP Brad Radke won 148 games in his 12-year career with the Minnesota Twins and he will be lucky to garner a single HOF vote.

• Enjoy your only year on the ballot.

LHP Terry Mulholland pitched a no-hitter in 1990 and possessed a nasty pickoff move.  He once autographed my ticket stub at Yankee Stadium in 1994. No chance of election.

• Enjoy your only year on the ballot.

Prediction:

• Morris: 58%
• Smith: 48%
• Radke: 0.1% (one vote)
• Mulholland: 0.0%