| 29 September 2009
Note: I'm on vacation until the end of the week, so I won't really have the time to do the regular blog postings. But to keep you all interested - and to continue to introduce any new readers to some of the Wezen-Ball archives (not to mention to re-introduce Google to the new URL of some of my more popular posts) - I've decided to fill the time by Archive Diving. I wish I could give you better, more up-to-the-minute content, but I just can't promise that. I'll try to check in. I hope you find something worth (re-)reading in the meantime.
As the season inches towards the end here, things are looking pretty good for Zack Greinke's Cy Young chances. Yes, he does still have fewer wins than some other pitchers thought to be in contention, but his other stats - the ones most under his own control - are just so mind-boggling that most of us who support Zack are convinced that voters will be able to look past the wins total to see the Cy Young winner that he is.
And as good as Greinke has been all season, including these last few weeks as he tries to put the last flourishes on his case, it's hard to remember that his start to the season was by far his best stretch of the season. The kid threw 43 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run before the streak ended on April 29. His stats at the end of April: 5-0, 0.50 ERA, 36 IP, 44 K, 8 BB, 0.889 WHIP. It was mind-boggling.
Which only got me thinking more about the record that he was chasing: Orel Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings to finish up the 1989 season. If 43 consecutive scoreless innings were so amazing to watch, what could 59 have been like? Seeing as how Hershiser was pitching in Los Angeles, I took look back at the Los Angeles Times issues from late-'89 to see what was being said about Hershiser. As you can imagine, it took a little while before people realized just what they were witnessing but, when they did, they were wowed.
So go take a look back at how the streak unfolded: The Scoreless Innings Streak. Enjoy!
