K/BB is a well known statistic in baseball. It measures the number of strikeouts for a pitcher in relation to his walks (base on balls), providing a numerical figure (a ratio) that assesses their ability to not only strikeout the opposition, but also to control their pitches by limiting their free passes. Basically, it’s a good way of measuring someone’s ability to be successful in the big leagues. So, you obviously want to strikeout a lot of hitters while walking a few, keeping that figure (when converted from fraction to decimal form), higher rather than lower (a lower number typically means you walked more people).
Last year, C.C. Sabathia’s K/BB was the best in the Majors. He struck out 209 batters and walked only 37. That’s good for a 209/37 K/BB or a 5.65 K/B (strikeout-to-walk ratio). In 2006, Ben Sheets and Curt Schilling were tops in baseball, but Sheets season was injury laden, so Schilling threw roughly 100 more innings than Sheets (so we won’t count his figure). Schilling’s K/BB was 183/28 or 6.54 (higher than Sabathia’s).
This year’s K/BB race has been an interesting one. Here’s what we have so far (in order to establish a cutoff and to differentiate relievers from starters, the pitchers featured have 40 IP or more). These numbers do not count stats from today’s games.
- Cliff Lee’s K/BB = 39/2 or 19.50 (otherworldly)
- Josh Beckett’s K/BB = 42/8 or 5.25
- Johnny Cueto’s K/BB = 41/8 or 5.13
- Roy Halladay’s K/BB = 47/10 or 4.70
- Javier Vasquez’s K/BB = 52/12 or 4.33
- Ervin Santana’s K/BB = 38/9 or 4.22
- Dan Haren’s K/BB = 41/10 or 4.10
- Mike Mussina’s K/BB = 20/5 or 4.00
- Johan Santana’s K/BB = 52/13 or 4.00
Now, the list is pretty interesting for a variety of reasons (it’s not really a perfect list since some of these guys have pitched more innings than others, etc.) . One, you wouldn’t expect to see some of those guys on there, not because of their skill level, but because they sort of came out of nowhere. Cliff Lee’s phenomenal figure is ridiculous and he’s an unexpected leader, but he has always had the skill set necessary to post some great numbers. Guys like Cueto and E. Santana are somewhat surprising, but knowing the talent that they possess and given their raw stuff, it’s not hard to believe that they’re up there.
Mike Mussina’s name definitely stands out though. Of course, it’s surprising to see him on any list pertaining to positive pitching statistics (to see him tied with Johan Santana is strange and entertaining) since we threw him under the bus after his miserable 2007 campaign (he earned that throw). But, the 20/4 K/BB and his subsequent place on this list is telling of his approach this year. Mike Mussina, whose stuff is in decline and has been for a while, is challenging hitters and he’s throwing them strikes. He’s not walking guys and he’s pretty much pitching to contact while mixing in a few strikeout numbers. He’s like Greg Maddux, except with better stuff (if Maddux was in the AL he’d get rocked). This approach can provide us with an explanation regarding his success as well. He’s not lighting up the radar gun, but he’s getting his breaking balls over for strikes and he’s challenging guys which is all you can really ask of him.
While we were quick to dismiss Mike Mussina’s chances this year (especially after those Boston debacles), he’s been very solid and is doing a great job. We were worried about him challenging Manny Ramirez in those games against Boston because they were bad moves (which can be attributed to Joe Girardi too). But, this is all Moose knows now and it’s actually encouraging. He’s going to live in the strike zone and try not to walk anyone, so I guess in that regard, a stubborn Moose is a good thing. He’s pitching smart and that’s good enough for a 5-3 record and a successful 2008 campaign (so far).
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