October 25-2013
Yu Darvish finished his second season in American baseball with more strikeouts–by far—than any other pitcher this year.
But his team sank on the last day of the regular season and did not make it into post-season play. As Darvish himself repeatedly said during the season when reporters complemented his statistics, the only thing that matters in baseball is whether or not the team wins.
But Darvish’s statistics are impressive. And his 2013 stats showed a marked improvement over his already remarkable rookie season in 2012.
Most impressively, his earned run average (ERA) ranked 9th among 679 pitchers in Major League Baseball this season. Last year, he ranked “only” 52nd.
ERA is the statistic most often associated with a pitcher. But perhaps more important is how many walks and hits a pitcher gives up, thus allowing opponents on base. That statistic is called WHIP for Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched. Because it is based on the average per inning and not totals, it irons out the differences between pitchers who are used a lot and those who don’t see as much play. Last year, Darvish’s WHIP ranked him 54th in the league; this year he ranked 11th, an impressive improvement.
But Darvish didn’t do so well in the category he watches most closely—wins. Last year, he ranked 11th and this year he fell to 32nd. Last year, he racked up 16 wins to 9 losses, while this year his record was 13-9.
But in strikeouts, a statistic with much fan appeal, Darvish was the king this year. He ranked first with 277 strikeouts, up from seventh with 221 last year. He still has a way to go to break the modern record, which is 383 and was set in 1973. And that record holder is Nolan Ryan, who is Darvish’s boss as president of the Texas Rangers.
The total strikeout stat gives an advantage to pitchers who see a lot of time on the mound. A fairer stat is the number of strikeouts a pitcher records for every nine innings he pitches. Darvish ranked second in Major League Baseball last year, but was first this year, cementing his position as strikeout king for this season.
Darvish saw a lot more time on the mound this year, showing the faith that Texas has in him. He ranked 42nd last year in number of innings pitched, but rose to 20th this season.
A little noted but important stat is the batting average achieved by the batters a pitcher faces. Last year, Darvish ranked an impressive fifth while this year he rose to second, meaning he is a pitcher who clearly scares the opposition.
One statistic Darvish would prefer not to see is the volume of walks he gives up. A pitcher does not wish to rank high in that stat. Last season, Darvish gave up 89 walks and ranked a painful sixth. This season he gave up fewer walks, 80, but others also gave up fewer walks and Darvish ended up ranked an even more painful fourth this season. Darvish started the season giving up few walks and looked to have conquered the problem that bedeviled him last year. But as the season wore on, he recorded walks at a higher rate.