Medlen’s Dominance
In my 2012 review of Kris Medlen, I pointed out how unique his season was, in terms of success and role. This first table shows all the seasons since 1901 where a pitcher had a 250 or higher ERA+ with at least 125 IP.
| Player | WAR | ERA+ | IP | Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | GF | W | L | SV | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Johnson | 14.3 | 259 | 346.0 | 1913 | 25 | WSH | 48 | 36 | 10 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 38 | 243 | 1.14 |
| Pedro Martinez | 11.4 | 291 | 217.0 | 2000 | 28 | BOS | 29 | 29 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 284 | 1.74 |
| Bob Gibson | 11.1 | 258 | 304.2 | 1968 | 32 | STL | 34 | 34 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 62 | 268 | 1.12 |
| Greg Maddux | 9.5 | 260 | 209.2 | 1995 | 29 | ATL | 28 | 28 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 181 | 1.63 |
| Dutch Leonard | 9.0 | 279 | 224.2 | 1914 | 22 | BOS | 36 | 25 | 8 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 60 | 176 | 0.96 |
| Greg Maddux | 8.3 | 271 | 202.0 | 1994 | 28 | ATL | 25 | 25 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 156 | 1.56 |
| John Hiller | 7.9 | 283 | 125.1 | 1973 | 30 | DET | 65 | 0 | 60 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 39 | 124 | 1.44 |
| Mordecai Brown | 6.9 | 253 | 277.1 | 1906 | 29 | CHC | 36 | 32 | 4 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 61 | 144 | 1.04 |
| Jim Kern | 6.0 | 264 | 143.0 | 1979 | 30 | TEX | 71 | 0 | 57 | 13 | 5 | 29 | 62 | 136 | 1.57 |
| Ferdie Schupp | 4.5 | 272 | 140.1 | 1916 | 25 | NYG | 30 | 11 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 86 | 0.90 |
| Kris Medlen | 4.4 | 256 | 138.0 | 2012 | 26 | ATL | 50 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 120 | 1.57 |
May 9, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Kris Medlen prepares to throw a pitch during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE
It will likely be another 10 years before we see another such season. Leverage is the reason why Medlen’s WAR is lower than Kern and Hiller, as those two were in the old “fireman” role, often coming in the 7th and 8th inning to finish a game, pitching a lot more high-leverage appearances. That Maddux guy also had a decent run…
Here is the list of pitchers with at least 10 starts and 35 relief appearances, sorted by ERA+:
| Player | ERA+ | GS | GR | Year | Age | Tm | W | L | SV | IP | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kris Medlen | 256 | 12 | 38 | 2012 | 26 | ATL | 10 | 1 | 1 | 138.0 | 1.57 |
| Jeff Fassero | 183 | 15 | 41 | 1993 | 30 | MON | 12 | 5 | 1 | 149.2 | 2.29 |
| Wilcy Moore | 171 | 12 | 38 | 1927 | 30 | NYY | 19 | 7 | 13 | 213.0 | 2.28 |
| Bob Bowman | 158 | 15 | 36 | 1939 | 28 | STL | 13 | 5 | 9 | 169.1 | 2.60 |
| Brian Duensing | 156 | 13 | 40 | 2010 | 27 | MIN | 10 | 3 | 0 | 130.2 | 2.62 |
| Tom Hall | 149 | 11 | 41 | 1970 | 22 | MIN | 11 | 6 | 4 | 155.1 | 2.55 |
| Norm Charlton | 146 | 16 | 40 | 1990 | 27 | CIN | 12 | 9 | 2 | 154.1 | 2.74 |
| Bill Hands | 145 | 11 | 38 | 1967 | 27 | CHC | 7 | 8 | 6 | 150.0 | 2.46 |
| Scott Williamson | 144 | 10 | 38 | 2000 | 24 | CIN | 5 | 8 | 6 | 112.0 | 3.29 |
| Bryn Smith | 143 | 12 | 37 | 1983 | 27 | MON | 6 | 11 | 3 | 155.1 | 2.49 |
| Byung-Hyun Kim | 142 | 12 | 44 | 2003 | 24 | TOT | 9 | 10 | 16 | 122.1 | 3.31 |
| Bump Hadley | 141 | 11 | 44 | 1931 | 26 | WSH | 11 | 10 | 8 | 179.2 | 3.06 |
As I mentioned in the preview, Medlen blows everyone out of the water here. It will be fun to see what he can do with a full season as a starter.