Cleveland Indians: Pitcher wins and Corey Kluber’s latest feat
Pitcher wins are no longer a big deal when it comes to determining a Cy Young winner. However, Cleveland Indians fans still saw a special feat Monday night.
The Cleveland Indians rested most of the usual lineup last night in Chicago. This led to a few Twitter hot takes, but Corey Kluber was still pitching so all was well.
Kluber entered the game with 19 wins, which was a new career high for him. He went to bed last night as a 20-game winner. That lineup wasn’t so bad after all.
Kluber is only the second pitcher in baseball to reach that mark this season, with Blake Snell being the other. This feat brings up the argument of pitcher wins being important or not mattering altogether, although the argument doesn’t have to be so polarizing.
Jacob deGrom is a perfect example of why pitcher wins shouldn’t be the main thing taken into account when determining who deserves the Cy Young award. He has an ERA of 1.77 and has only allowed more than three runs once this season, which came back in his third start of the year. He currently sits with a record of 9-9.
deGrom is a Cy Young contender in the National League and his record clearly doesn’t tell the whole story. But it is not like Kluber has 20 wins all by luck.
Kluber is fourth in the American League in ERA, fifth in strikeouts, first in innings pitched and so on. His wins complement the rest of his stats as opposed to masking any major flaws.
At the same time it is just cool to see a 20-game winner. It is like winning the Triple Crown. It doesn’t mean a player is the greatest in the game, but it is a feat that deserves some recognition, if only for the fact it is something that has been considered important in baseball history.
Kluber is already one of the best pitchers to ever wear an Indians uniform. He may not be at a Hall of Fame level yet, but a few more years of this production and I would argue he would go in within a few years of his eligibility starting. Especially if he retires with one or two more Cy Young awards.
I’m not sure if another award is coming this year but fans still got to witness history with his 20th win on the year. Let’s hope he picks up a few more in a few weeks.