Sunday, December 25, 2011

Is CC Sabathia the most consistent pitcher in baseball?

The New York Yankee's ace pitcher CC Sabathia is not the best pitcher in baseball, but he is a top ten one. He won the Cy Young award in 2007 with the Cleveland Indians. Since 2007, he has finished in the top five of Cy Young voting 4 times.

He wins games. Yes, wins are variable stat, but one can't ignore how consistent his totals have been. Every year since 2007, Sabathia won at least 17 games. He won 19 games three times in his career (2007, 2009, and 2011). His only season of 20 wins came in 2010.

Also since 2007, he has struck out at least 197 batters, including a impressive totals in 2008 (252 K) and 2011 (230 K). In addition, his SO/9 has never been below 7.4 since 2007.

Even with those impressive stats, CC Sabathia's most impressive feat is his durability. His career low in games pitched was 28 in 2006. In his eleven year career, he has averaged 34 games pitched a season. That's what makes CC Sabathia valuable. He doesn't get hurt. When the Yankees signed him to an 8 year deal in 2008, they knew they were getting a durable pitcher. After being plagued by busts like the fragile Carl Pavano and the aging Randy Johnson, they finally got a consistent pitcher.

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