Continuing on from my previous blog post...
Cole Hamels: Hamels signed a contract extension before the 2012 trade deadline with the Philadelphia Phillies. The contract is worth approximately $132 Million/6 years, and a seventh year option could push the deal to range between $152-$156 Million/7 years. Hamels will earn slightly more than Cain over the guaranteed life of his contract, but Hamels will still fall $15 million short of the contract recently inked by Greinke. Hamels was expected to sign for more money than Cain, and Cain's contract was probably a starting/reference point in negotiations. Unlike Greinke and Cain, Hamels is left handed, and elite starting left handed pitchers like Hamels are something of a rarity, and thus are expected to be paid higher premiums than their peers. So how exactly does Hamels match up with the two aforementioned starting pitchers? Over parts of seven MLB seasons, Cole Hamels has a career win-loss record of 91-60, an ERA of 3.34, he has 1,376.2 IP, and has struck out 1,307 batters. Hamels has compiled these numbers in 212 career games, fewer than Greinke and Cain. While, Hamels has exceeded Cain in strikeouts, he trails Greinke (barely), but keep in mind that Greinke and Cain have pitched in quite a few more games than Hamels, and that alone attributes a ton to the stat differential. Despite all of this, Hamels has as many wins as Greinke and more wins than Cain, while boasting a better winning percentage than both. Examining the advanced stats, Hamels has compared a career WAR of 27.4. Henceforth, Hamels trails Cain and Greinke in WAR, but if Hamels had as much service time as Cain and Greinke, he would probably easily surpass the two in WAR. As far as ERA+ is concerned, Hamels has averaged a career ERA+ value of 126. This value bests Cain's 124 and Greinke's 114, but like Cain, Hamels has never won a CY Young Award.(The highest Hamels has ever placed on a ballot is fifth in 2011). However just like Cain, Hamels has appeared in three All-Star games, while Greinke has only appeared in one.Hamels Post Season Numbers:
| Year | W | L | IP | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0 | 1 | 4.05 | 6.2 | 7 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 8.0 | 9 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | 1.93 | 14.0 | 13 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | 2.77 | 13.0 | 8 |
| 2009 | 0 | 1 | 7.20 | 5.0 | 5 |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | 6.52 | 9.2 | 7 |
| 2009 | 0 | 1 | 10.38 | 4.1 | 3 |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 9.0 | 9 |
| 2010 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 6.0 | 8 |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 6.0 | 8 |
| 5 Yrs (10 Series) | 7 | 4 | 3.09 | 81.2 | 77 |
| 5 NLDS | 3 | 2 | 1.82 | 34.2 | 38 |
| 3 NLCS | 3 | 1 | 3.64 | 29.2 | 28 |
| 2 WS | 1 | 1 | 4.67 | 17.1 | 11 |
Justin Verlander: I know what some people are thinking. How can you compare Justin Verlander, arguably the best pitcher in the game to the aforementioned pitchers above? Well as crazy as it sounds, Justin Verlander has stats which are more comparable to Greinke, Cain, and Hamels than one would initially guess. Over parts of eight Major League Seasons, Verlander has posted some outstanding numbers. Verlander has a career win-loss record of 124-65, an ERA of 3.40, he has 1,553.2 IP, and has struck out 1,454 batters. Yes, Verlander is the cream of the crop, he has outperformed Greinke, Cain and Hamels in every category, except for his ERA. Verlander's ERA is lower than Greinke's, but Verlander has a career ERA that is higher than both Cain and Hamels. Aside from the ERA category, Verlander has performed much better than the three other top flight starters...at least at first glance, but digging deeper into the stats, the debate gets even better. Verlander has posted a career ERA+ of 128, which is only a mere two points higher than Hamels 126. But WAR heavily favors Verlander, as he has compiled a career WAR of 34.2, which far exceeds the value of the previously mentioned pitchers. As far as accolades go, Verlander is a five time All-Star at the age of 29, he won the CY Young Award in the AL and was named the MVP in 2011, and he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Looking at the stats and accolades and comparing Verlander to the pitchers mentioned above, I wonder if Verlander had hit the open market this offseason what his contract would have been. A $180 Million/6 year with an option for a seventh year that could push the contract to $215 Million/7 years, this contract is probably not far fetched. This would provide Verlander with an Average Annual Value of $30 million over the six guaranteed years with a $35 million option for the seventh year. However, if people look at postseason stats, Verlander's value might take a hit...as Cain is the superior postseason pitcher of the group. However Verlander pitched well in the postseason this year.Verlander's Post Season Numbers:
| Year | W | L | IP | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 5.1 | 5 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 5.1 | 6 |
| 2006 | 0 | 2 | 5.73 | 11.0 | 12 |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | 5.00 | 9.0 | 12 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 5.56 | 11.1 | 13 |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | 0.56 | 16.0 | 22 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | 1.08 | 8.1 | 3 |
| 2012 | 0 | 1 | 11.25 | 4.0 | 4 |
| 3 Yrs (8 Series) | 6 | 4 | 4.22 | 70.1 | 77 |
| 3 ALDS | 3 | 0 | 2.67 | 30.1 | 39 |
| 3 ALCS | 3 | 1 | 4.32 | 25.0 | 22 |
| 2 WS | 0 | 3 | 7.20 | 15.0 | 16 |
People can argue and use different stats all day to prove which one of these four pitchers is the best, and there is probably not a wrong answer. I did not compare these four pitchers to give readers a clear-cut winner, I did so in order to allow the readers to think about contract values and how pitchers stack up to one another. Each of these pitchers has their perks. Greinke has a wipe-out curveball, Cain knows how to pitch and has thrown a perfect game, Hamels has a devestating change-up, and Verlander has thrown two career no-hitters. It's goood to debate about topics like this, but I would like to remind everyone that all of these pitchers are entering/in the prime of their careers, and I believe the best is yet to come from all of these pitchers. I want to remind my readers not to get so caught up in debates or hating the teams these players pitch for or even the pitchers themselves that they forget to enjoy and marvel at the performances and careers of each of the individuals.
I hope that everyone has a Good Start to a Happy New Year, May God Bless each and everyone of you throughout this New Year!
I hope that everyone has a Good Start to a Happy New Year, May God Bless each and everyone of you throughout this New Year!
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