Cliff Lee has thrown 1198 pitches over 86.2 innings so far this season. 870 of those pitches have been strikes, for a strike rate of 72.6%. According to Baseball-Reference, here are the highest full-season strike rates for any pitcher with at least 80 innings, dating back to 2000 (as far back as the Play Index will allow me to go):
1) 2001 Mariano Rivera, 72.1%
2) 2004 Paul Byrd, 71.5%
3) 2005 Carlos Silva, 71.4%
4) 2005 Brad Radke, 71.0%
5) 2010 Scott Baker, 70.8%
Cliff Lee has walked four batters over 86.2 innings so far this season, for a BB/9 of 0.42. According to Baseball-Reference, here are the lowest full-season BB/9 rates for any pitcher with at least 80 innings, dating back to 1952:
1) 2005 Carlos Silva, 0.43
2) 1963 Hal Brown, 0.51
3) 1962 Bill Fischer, 0.56
4) 1994 Bret Saberhagen, 0.66
5) 1983 Dan Quisenberry, 0.71
Cliff Lee threw 115 pitches tonight, with a career-high 90 strikes. According to Baseball-Reference, there have been 589 instances since 1952 that a pitcher threw 90 strikes in a game, but in only six of those instances did the pitcher in question achieve a better single-game strike rate than Lee's 78.2%. Kudos to:
1) Curt Schilling, 9/20/02, 94 out of 114
2) Lew Burdette, 8/10/60, 91 out of 113
3) Carlos Perez, 9/14/98, 92 out of 116
4) Curt Schilling, 9/21/04, 90 out of 114
5) Ben Sheets, 5/16/04, 91 out of 116
6) Roy Oswalt, 9/9/01, 98 out of 125
Cliff Lee. Right now, he may be the most in-control pitcher I have ever seen in my life.
0 recs | 48 comments
Why can't we re-sign him now forever? :(
Mariner John - June 23, 2010
Best pitcher in the majors?
Best pitcher in the majors.
wyte_lightning - June 23, 2010
amazing stuff, any way to buy gametapes from MLB??
does anybody know if there is a MLB archive website/database where they sell and distribute game tapes? Really random question but this game tonight made me think about if they had such a thing.
jking12 - June 23, 2010
MLB has selected games for sale on their website.
But they tend to be classic games.
You could always purchase MLB.TV and have access to archived games and record them with whatever means you can.
Wilder. - June 23, 2010
He's ok I guess.
lmeyer40 - June 23, 2010
When we got him I thought, "Oh sweet, we got Cliff Lee. He's pretty good."
Boy was I wrong.
bamfor - June 23, 2010
Cliff Fucking Lee is amazing. I've been watching the M's for a long time now and his
performance this year is the best I’ve ever seen in an M’s uniform. I love you Cliff Lee.
TrustBaseball - June 23, 2010
Let's keep him so all the records he sets this year
will be in a Mariners uniform.
Is that a good reason? Please? I’m way too short-sighted to care about 2011. I just want more Lee.
Snuffleupagus - June 23, 2010
Is King Felix capable of matching Lee's performance this year?
I don’t mean doing it this year, but doing it ever. Are we ever going to see a starting pitcher with this much control in an M’s uniform again?
TrustBaseball - June 23, 2010
Felix is not that type of pitcher.
If Felix ever has that kind of control, he’d be getting perfect games and no hitters every other night.
Allen Wu - June 23, 2010
Yeah, I guess I know this, I just wish we had a young pitcher like Lee.
Felix is his own special type. Can’t we have a young Lee too? We need the kind of 1-2 punch that these two could give us. I wish we were the team that could take advantage of what this year could have offered. Damn M’s – always just short of what is needed.
TrustBaseball - June 23, 2010
Well, take solace in the fact that being around Lee is very, very good for Felix.
Jeff Nye - June 23, 2010
You need more "very"s in there.
Allen Wu - June 23, 2010
And everyone else, judging from the comments they've made
msb - June 24, 2010
PINEDA!
I Lick Squirrels - June 24, 2010
Bedard!
Slurvey - June 24, 2010
If we had a young pitcher like Lee he'd suck for years before he was any good
Aaron Campeau - June 24, 2010
Kind of like Cliff Lee
Matthew - June 24, 2010
I was going to make this joke but I think that's what Aaron meant
Jeff Sullivan - June 24, 2010
You're faith in me means everything
Aaron Campeau - June 24, 2010
Aw man
Aaron Campeau - June 24, 2010
Now you fucked up
Jeff Sullivan - June 24, 2010
This is why we told you to hide under the wrong hoverdesk.
abender20 - June 24, 2010
I wonder what Ruben Amaro thinks of this.
I Lick Squirrels - June 23, 2010
I like how Cliff Lee has been better than Roy Halladay. Alot better.
Goose - June 24, 2010
The baseball universe is conspiring to make me really, really sad.
SethGrandpa - June 23, 2010
This is the most depressing six game winning streak ever.
Fuckmikereilly - June 24, 2010
Pleaseeeeeee !!!!!!!!!
Give Cliff Lee 6 years 110 million dolar contract
Jose Lopez's swing - June 24, 2010
You suck.
abender20 - June 24, 2010
If you are who you say you are.
abender20 - June 24, 2010
I was at the game tonight.
I just had to get there. I invited a friend to join me.
We both marveled.
Watching Lee is so frickin’ awesome that it’s really hard to be objective. I know the “smartest” thing is to trade him for pieces. But I just keep thinking wouldn’t it be cool to have him around the rest of this season, and then do whatever it takes to sign him to a new deal so he can remain a Mariner the rest of his career.
I mean, isn’t the goal really to have love and joy rooting for your team? And after a competent front offices does everything it can to improve there team there remains no guarantee that the team actually will win a pennant. But if the team has Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, isn’t that just about as close to an absolute guarantee of joy that you’re ever going to get as a Mariners fan?
Steve Nelson - June 24, 2010
The Yankees will give him something like 8/200
So, thanks for playing, buh-bye.
Aly Edge - June 24, 2010
Maybe 5/150
Forgot Lee is already past age 30
Aly Edge - June 24, 2010
You should really stop doing this
Jeff Nye - June 24, 2010
It is sad
to realize that what you’re suggesting will never happen. But Kudos to Lee who have been a true profesional when he arrives to Seattle. Hoping he will be traded to championship teams (other than the Angels or Phillies) because he and his less than 10 million dollar contract deserve it
Jose Lopez's swing - June 24, 2010
If he gets traded to Philly I wouldn't mind
I’d like to think that the idea of Polanco, Lee and Ibanez winning a title would be enough to offset the obnoxiousness of Philly fans
bamfor - June 26, 2010
The one game I went to see Cliff Lee.
Was the Rays game where he gave up 8 runs. He was still fun to watch. He is amazing and any other pitcher I’d say tade him but this one time, don’t trade him. I don’t care about 2011 right now.
Hopefulmsfan - June 24, 2010
Wasn't there some unearned runs in there?
M'sFanatic - June 24, 2010
Not helping Jeff.
This is going to hurt enough already.
the other side - June 24, 2010
Shades of Greg Maddux
Poochie - June 24, 2010
To all opposing fans and GM's, THIS is why I want your best prospect and THIS is why "untouchable" doesn't exist in my vocabulary.
This is Cliff Phifer Fucking Lee.
Kenneth Arthur - June 24, 2010
Cliff Phucking Lee?
levnclf - June 24, 2010
Nevermind.
levnclf - June 24, 2010
I heard Cy Young just won the Cliff Lee.
Kenneth Arthur - June 24, 2010
I was at a sports bar during the game and Sportscenter had an update on Cliff Lee
There was a nice little chart that showed the best K/BB ratios by starters in history. Cliff Lee was in front by 10. TEN!!!! That’s more than double second place on the list.
Jon S. - June 24, 2010
This should be comforting to us all in terms of the imminent trade
there’s no way he keeps up his performance. No way.
Bearskin Rugburn - June 24, 2010
I don't mean to take anything away from that stat, since it's incredible
but be very wary of ratio stats with tiny denominators.
Jeff Sullivan - June 24, 2010
Its awesome.
But if he walks two in a game, it’s going to come way down. If he wanted to keep it at 19 in two starts down the road, he’d have to, well, obviously strike out 19 and walk 0. That’s just really, really hard to do. Even with as big a lead as he has now, it will be incredible if he finishes the season in the double digits. But its awesome that WE got to see the 19:1 Cliff Lee.
Kenneth Arthur - June 24, 2010
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