Cole starting to resemble a postseason great
Astros righty in august company as he continues to win
Even on a team with three stars in the starting rotation, Gerrit Cole has stood out in these playoffs.
The 29-year-old right-hander won twice for Houston in the AL Division Series, allowing only one run in 15.2 innings. He won again Tuesday in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees, and if the Astros keep advancing, Cole could be well on his way to becoming the latest postseason pitching sensation.
If that happens, he'll join an illustrious group. A great postseason (or two) can turn a journeyman into a household name — and an ace into a legend.
Here are some of the different types of dominant postseason pitchers — the men who have made their mark from the mound:
The stars
The cream of the crop. These are the pitchers who delivered some of the most memorable postseason moments in baseball history. They are workhorse starters who were great for at least one terrific postseason run — and often more than that.
Madison Bumgarner won LCS and World Series MVP honors in 2014, finishing that postseason with four wins, 52.2 innings and a memorable five-inning save in Game 7 of the World Series for the Giants. Jack Morris went 3-0 during Detroit's 1984 title run, then pitched a 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the '91 series for Minnesota. Curt Schilling led Arizona to the title in 2001, then pitched through injury troubles when Boston broke its long championship drought three years later.
Justin Verlander pitched 17 scoreless innings for Detroit over the course of two decisive Game 5s in the ALDS, in 2012 and 2013 against Oakland.
The expanded playoffs have given these standouts more chances to
shine, but even before divisional play, there were some remarkable performances.
Sandy Koufax had a 0.95 ERA in eight World Series games and was MVP in ‘63 and ‘65.
Bob Gibson made nine World Series starts, going 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA and winning MVP twice. His St. Louis Cardinals lost the 1968 series to Detroit, but he struck out 17 in Game 1.
The 1905 World Series is noteworthy for the performance of Christy Mathewson, who threw three shutouts in a six-day span.
The relievers
No discussion of great postseason pitchers is complete without mentioning dominant relievers — they’ve become too important in today’s game.
According to thebaseballgauge.com, Mariano Rivera ranks No. 1 in career “championship win probability added” — a stat that adjusts win probability figures depending on how important the game was to a team’s chances of winning the World Series. Rivera posted a 0.70 ERA in 141 postseason innings, while consistently being used in high-leverage spots for the Yankees.
Oakland’s Rollie Fingers was the MVP of the 1974 World Series. For his career, he went 4-4 with a 2.35 ERA in the postseason, throwing 57.1 innings in 30 relief appearances.
Out of nowhere
Some of these pitchers had solid careers, but none were Hall of Famers. What they did do was pick a good time to be at their best.
Art Nehf won the clinching game of the 1921 and 1922 World Series for the New York Giants, the former with a 1-0 shutout of the Yankees. Lew Burdette was an All-Star in 1957, albeit with just a 3.72 ERA. He reached another level for Milwaukee in the World Series that year with three complete game victories, including a shutout of the Yankees in Game 7.
Johnny Podres was barely 23 when he pitched a shutout at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 to give Brooklyn a long-awaited World Series title in 1955.
Ralph Terry was the man who allowed Bill Mazeroski’s World Series-winning homer in 1960, but two years later he came through in a big way for the Yankees, throwing a shutout in Game 7 against the Giants, a tense 1-0 victory for New York.
Josh Beckett was the MVP of the 2003 World Series for the Marlins. Although the rest of his career didn’t quite live up to that promise, he also earned ALCS MVP honors in 2007 as part of Boston’s run to a title.