I know it's almost 50 years ago now, but in 1971 the Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff accomplished something that is unlikely to ever be accomplished again. In winning the American League pennant, the O's trotted out to the mound four 20 game winners: Dave McNally (21-5), Jim Palmer (20-9), Mike Cuellar (20-8) and Pat Dobson (20-8).
Four 20 game winners. Think about that. For comparison, there were exactly two 20 game winners in all of baseball last season (Tampa Bay's Ian Snell had 21 and Cleveland's Corey Kluber with 20).
The Orioles' staff was so impressive that their four starters alone combined to throw 70 complete games. What? You read it right -- 70 complete games. Again comparison: last year, not a single pitcher in baseball threw more than two. The Padres, as a team, had none. Zip.
So what does it all mean? Simply this: the Padres' most concerning area heading into 2019 -- starting pitching -- may really wind up being of no concern at all. I mean, who needs starting pitching anyway?
Before we examine that statement more closely, let's go back to those early 1970's for a moment. My dad Nick and I were talking one day when he brought up an absurd thought: "Hey, I wonder what would happen if a team just decided to go with all top relief pitchers," he suggested. "You wouldn't need any starters. Everybody could just pitch one inning each day."
"Are you crazy?" I asked. "That'll never happen." We went on with our day.
Now fast forward back to last season. Though my dad didn't live long enough to see it, his idea was basically put into action by several teams (most notably the 90 win Tampa Bay Rays, who used an "opener" on many occasions rather than a conventional starting pitcher). The Milwaukee Brewers led the National League in wins last season and came within one game of the World Series with their starters sometimes facing only one batter, let alone pitching one full inning.
My dad probably would have smiled. Things have changed quite a bit these days.
Starters are now baseball's least important asset. Of course, there are still a few "horses" out there like Max Scherzer and Jon Lester and Kluber, who take the ball every fifth day. But the likes of those guys seems to be a dying breed.
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series (rather easily, I might add with 108 wins and an 11-3 playoff record) last year, yet had only two 15 game winners on their staff: Rick Porcello (17) and David Price (16). Round it out with Eduardo Rodriguez (13 wins) and Chris Sale (12) and Boston could boast four 10 game winners. Not exactly threatening the famous Orioles.
The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers had only one 10 game winner: Rich Hill with 11. And they won the N.L. pennant! At least Hill had more wins than the league's Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, who stashed away a grand total of 10 victories for the New York Mets.
The Padres' staff, on paper, looks somewhat paper thin. Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer, a pair of second-year lefties, are at the top the list. Guys younger than them like Chris Paddack, Jacob Nix, and Logan Allen will be fighting for spots. Another lefty, Robbie Erlin, is the "veteran" of the group.
Lucchesi was the big winner among this group last season with eight wins. He tied reliever Craig Stammen for the team lead in that category. Maybe he can pick up a couple more this season. And maybe, just maybe, all the rest will simply need to keep up somewhat of a similar pace. If Lauer, Paddack, Nix, and Erlin can all win seven or eight, that may be all that's necessary.
It would have been impossible to think about many years ago, but now a team could get to 90 wins without having anybody win in double digits. In other words, I'm pretty sure those '71 Orioles' numbers are safe.
