The goals of a starting pitcher should be getting the most possible outs and keeping his team in the game by allowing the fewest possible hits and runs.
That’s true for little league, MLB, and everything in between.
New York Mets star Justin Verlander has put that in practice like no other active pitcher in the game.
He often goes six or seven strong innings and keeps opposing offenses in check.
“Most starts of 7+ IP with 2 or fewer hits allowed, since 1900: Nolan Ryan: 62, Justin Verlander: 33, Randy Johnson: 33, Roger Clemens: 33,” MLB stats expert Sarah Langs tweeted.
most starts of 7+ IP with 2 or fewer hits allowed, since 1900:
Nolan Ryan: 62
Justin Verlander: 33
Randy Johnson: 33
Roger Clemens: 33 https://t.co/HndhWFYD6j— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 11, 2023
On Wednesday, Verlander took the ball against the Cincinnati Reds and gave his team a memorable performance in a time of need.
He dominated the Reds and earned the win (for the first time in his career against this particular opponent), pitching seven innings of just one-run ball.
He conceded just two hits and struck out seven hitters.
It was another seven-inning start in which Verlander conceded no more than two hits: the 33rd of his career.
He tied Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens at that number.
That’s some pretty good company right there, as Johnson and Clemens are considered by many the best left-hander and right-hander in the history of baseball, respectively.
All of them, however, are very, very far from Nolan Ryan’s 62 starts of the kind.
Ryan pitched in the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, and was dominant most of the time (even in his later years as a 40+ pitcher).
He had stamina, endurance, a big fastball and a bulldog demeanor on the mound.
It’s one of those records that are unlikely to be ever broken.
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