Pitching…The ONLY Way To WIN A Championship As 2021 Proved
I’ve Said It Before
When topfanrivalry.com was launched in 2020, I wrote an article responding to a friend who was trying to convince the readers that the Angels were a better team than the Dodgers. I went toe to toe with him using pitching as the basis for my argument on why the Dodgers were a better team than the Angels. Now here we are a year and a half later with my first article after the completion of the 2021 season and my argument is still the same, you NEED pitching to go deep in the playoffs.
The Wild Card Round-Red Sox v Yankees in Fenway
This was an MLB’s television ratings dream. The biggest rivalry in the game and one of the biggest in all of professional sports. The rivalry dates back January 5, 1920 when George Herman (Babe) Ruth was sold to the Yankees from the Red Sox for the sum of $125,000. Babe played six season with Boston, leading them to three World Series Championships, but on that day in January the Babe packed it up and headed for New York, with him came the birth of a historic rivalry. Now the Bronx Bombers headed north to meet the Red Sox and pitching was EVERYTHING on this night. Win or go home, the Yankees behind Gerrit Cole were thinking they’ve got it in the bag, having just had a big series win a few days prior at Fenway. Cole pitched into the third giving up 4 hits, 3 earned runs, and 2 homeruns, allowing the Red Sox to lead the entire game and gaining a 6-2 victory. Score one for the Fenway Faithful and sending the Bombers home to talk about next year.
The Divisional Series-Astros v White Sox
This series started in Houston and the Astros proved to the baseball world they deserved to be there. Houston broke out for 10 hits in game 1 and scored six times, setting the tone for the series. The Astros gathered FORTY hits in the four game series, scoring 31 runs. The most scary stat for the White Sox was the 18 free passes they gave up. You can not win a series walking that many hitters period! Walking hitters puts the offense on edge, not to mention the bullpen. Lots of high pitch counts, and lots of pitchers being used. Astros advanced with relative ease, which on paper you may have thought this series was going to be tighter. Pitching, pitching, pitching.
The Championship Series Braves v Dodgers
This series was an interesting one to watch, even as a Dodger fan I have to tip my cap to the Braves for what they were able to accomplish. Different than the Astros/White Sox Divisional Series this one was almost toe to toe on runs scored and hits. The Braves scored 26 in the five game series with 53 hits, while the Dodgers scored 27 on 50 hits. The key to this series again comes down to the pitching and how the arms were used. The Dodgers had TWO bullpen games (games 1 and 5), thus using their arms much more than some may have felt necessary, but the real downfall for the Dodgers was the starting pitching. Scherzer only went 4.1 in game 2, Buehler 3.2 in game 3 and 4 in game 6, with Urias only going 5 in game 4. None of the ‘dominant’ starting pitchers who got the Dodgers there went into the sixth inning. Going deep into the post season means your starters going more than 4 innings a start!
The Fall Classic-Braves v Astros
As mentioned in the Championship Series above this wasn’t about the runs, hits or walks but this series was about the long ball, bad pitch selection, and the Braves bullpen. In the series the Astros scored 20 runs on 43 hits and the Braves scored 25 runs on 48 hits. The difference on the offensive side was the ELEVEN long balls the Astros gave up, which is a result of bad pitch selection. In addition to the long ball the Braves bullpen was untouchable for the most part. Look at these crazy stats for the 2021 post season:
Looking at these numbers proves two points. One we see why the Braves went as far as they did in the post season, and two why pitching in so important to going deep in the post season.
Final Thoughts
Many of teams have tried to make playoff runs with great offenses, which oftentimes get them making a solid run but falling short of the post season (i.e. the Padres). Pitching is the only way that teams make it to and through the post season. Sure injuries play into the stretch run and the post season (as both the Dodgers and Astros learned this season), but at the end of the day pitching is where it’s all at in the game. Without pitching, or without pitching that can go deep into the game a team will never make it to the promised land. The 2021 season again proves this point! Goodbye 2021 season, CONGRATULATIONS to the Braves on capturing their first title since 1995. Let’s bring on the craziness of the off season and free agency. Look for more to come on this on the site. Lots of good Clubhouse interviews coming, as well as top fan articles. Enjoy!
Article by Bill Perkins, baseball enthusiast and Dodgers fan.