San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Colon eclipses Marichal in wins only
Wins are less and less relevant when judging a pitcher’s value. Pitchers have less control over wins and losses than ever because starters are pitching fewer innings than ever.
So wins aren’t as important even though the object is to win the game. It’s more about where a pitcher ranks in FIP, WHIP, WAR, BAA, K/BB and ERA+ — or any other pertinent acronym that suits your fancy.
That brings us to Bartolo Colon, who’s being celebrated for earning his 244th career win, a significant number because it’s one more than Juan Marichal and makes Colon the all-time winningest pitcher born in the Dominican Republic.
Good for Colon, the likable 45-year-old they call Big Sexy who’s a must-watch when he picks up a bat and has survived to pitch a 21st big-league season. But the irrelevance of wins has never been more telling than when broaching the subject of Colon surpassing Marichal.
Marichal earned wins the old-fashioned way, by pitching complete games every four days and averaging 280 innings and 194 strikeouts over an amazing 10-year span (1962-71) with the Giants, after which he fizzled out. His final Marichal-like season came at age 34, and he threw his final pitch at 37.
Colon has had benefits not available to Marichal. Aside from working in an era with five-man rotations and bullpens carrying a heavy workload, Colon has taken advantage of medical advancements including Tommy John surgery and stem-cell therapy — along with performance-enhancing drugs, for which he was suspended — to prolong his career.
Of course, we’re not comparing the pitchers as much as the eras. There’s really no comparison when it comes to Marichal vs. Colon. One had a 2.89 ERA and would have been a firstballot Hall of Famer if he hadn’t taken a bat to John Roseboro’s head. The other has a 4.07 ERA and won his 244th game by yielding three runs in six innings, a start that would have made Marichal lose sleep.
Digging deeper into Marichal’s career is a fascinating journey. In fact, my favorite all-time stat is Marichal had more complete games than wins. He had 30 alone in 1968, seven fewer than Colon has had in his career. That year, Marichal had 19 straight starts of nine innings or more, two lasting 11 and another 10, a span in which he posted a 1.43 ERA.
Let’s not forget the 16-inning win in 1963 in which he threw 227 pitches. Not only did he have the most wins in the ’60s (there’s that stat again) but the most complete games, though he pitched in the shadow of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, who made 15 combined World Series starts in the decade and combined won five Cy Young Awards.
Marichal is the best pitcher never to win the Cy Young (since its 1956 inception). In fact, he never got a vote in the ’60s. The process was different back then. Only one pitcher in the majors won the award through 1966, before each league had a winner beginning in 1967, and writers in the ’60s voted for just one person. There were no votes for second place, third place, etc.
It’s fine to celebrate Colon, but let’s also acknowledge Marichal as a one-of-a-kind pitcher who might have pitched in other legends’ shadows but was no less of a pitcher and competitor.
Meantime, Colon’s next step is surpassing Dennis Martinez’s 245 wins and becoming the winningest Latin American pitcher. Martinez is from Nicaragua.
Around the majors The Home Run Derby no longer seems the place to be. Many of the best sluggers are saying they have no desire to compete — what is this, the Slam Dunk Contest? — including Giancarlo Stanton, J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts. Mike Trout has never done it. Bryce Harper said he’ll do it only if he’s an All-Star. Even Gleyber Torres wants no part of it. It’s time to be creative, and Seattle manager Scott Servais is pushing Ichiro Suzuki even though Ichiro’s no longer on the roster. He still takes batting practice and, like always, clears the outfield wall with ease — hitting the ball far extended his arms, loosened him up and helped him get ready for games. His old manager, Bob Melvin, said Ichiro could have hit a bunch of homers if he wanted, and former teammates Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone said as far back as 2003 if Ichiro were in the derby, he’d win it. He’s 44 now but still able to go deep. Let Ichiro hit. With so many uninterested sluggers, he just might win it.
Manny Machado is the biggest name approaching the July 31 trade deadline, and no two teams should be crossed off the list faster than the Giants and A’s, neither of which seems playoff-bound. The Giants don’t want to finish above the luxury tax threshold, and the A’s don’t want to give up key prospects for a two-month rental. Injured third basemen Evan Longoria and Matt Chapman will be back at some point, and shortstops Brandon Crawford and Marcus Semien aren’t budging any time soon. The list of candidates is long, but if Machado goes to the Dodgers or Diamondbacks, he’d shift the balance of power in the NL West. Not only is each team in a position of need, but each should want to be extra aggressive to prevent the other from landing the 25-year-old differencemaker.
Nice move by the Nationals to add two-time All-Star closer Kelvin Herrera in a trade with the Royals. A year ago at this time, general manager Mike Rizzo added Oakland’s Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. Now, with Brandon Kintzler, they have four relievers with closing experience — Doolittle remains the closer — who would be useful in a postseason run, especially against the bullpen-deep Astros and Yankees.
Ryon Healy, dealt from the A’s to Seattle in the offseason, is a meaningful piece of the soaring Mariners, hitting .341 with five homers in his past 12 games. He’s finally healthy after undergoing hand surgery in February and spraining an ankle in early April. No longer a fit in Oakland because the A’s had no position for him, Healy is thrilled to be playing first base every day on a team that’s gearing toward October.