There has been lots of talk about Shane Bieber’s great start to this unusual season – 5-0, 1.11 with 65 strikeouts. In the theme of “In baseball, we count everything,” it has been noted that the 65 whiffs ties Bieber for the fourth-most strikeouts in the first six starts of a campaign (Elias Sports Bureau). In this post, BBRT will take a look at the top five (in strikeouts in a season’s first six starts) – how they got there and what they did in their seventh starting assignment. First a chart (BBRT loves charts) and then some commentary.
A few notes, on the performance of players on this list over those six starts:
- Shane Bieber had the lowest ERA (1.11) and also the fewest innings pitched (40 2/3).
- Nolan Ryan’s gave up the fewest hits (20 in 50 innings), but the most walks (30).
- Pedro Martinez and Shane Bieber tied for the most wins (5), while Nolan Ryan had the fewest wins (2).
Some other notes:
- Ryan is the only pitcher to finish his streak season with a losing record (10-13).
- The only hurler on the list not to lead the league in strikeouts out after his blazing start was Pedro Martinez in 2001 – a season when a rotator cuff injury cost him a month of playing time. (We’ll see what Bieber does.)
- None of the players on the list had a 20-win season in the year of their quick starts.
- The three players Bieber is joining on this list are all in the top 15 in career strikeouts – Nolan Ryan (Number One); Pedro Martinez (13); Curt Schilling (15).
- The most strikeouts in the seventh start for players on this list was Pedro Martinez, with 15 whiffs in his seventh start of 2000. We, of course, have yet to see what Bieber does.
Now, let’s look at the list.
Nolan Ryan, Angels – 71 strikeouts in his first six starts of 1978
No surprise to find MLB’s career strikeout king at the top of this list. Ryan is also the career leader in bases on balls – and his 30 walks over his first six 1978 starts also leads this list (more than twice as many as the runner-up).
Ryan had the fewest wins (during his first six starts) among our five leaders – going just 2-1, despite a nifty 1.62 ERA. With a little help from his friends, he would have fared better. He gave up zero runs in four of those six starts, yet his only victories came in a pair of complete-game shutouts. The biggest disappointment probably came in an April 13 start against the Twins (in Minnesota). Ryan got a no-decision, despite pitching ten innings of shutout ball, giving up just four hits (four walks), while fanning 12. The Angels did win the game 1-0 on a Joe Rudi walk-off home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning.
Ryan finished the season at 10-13, 3.72, leading the league in strikeouts (260) and walks (148) in 234 2/3 innings pitched. Over his career, Ryan would lead the league in strikeouts 11 times and walks eight times.
Nolan Ryan fanned just five batters in eight innings in his seventh 1978 start – taking the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits and six walks to the Indians.
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Pedro Martinez, Red Sox – 67 strikeouts in his first six starts of 2000
The only pitcher to appear twice in the top-five list, Martinez picked up five wins in his first six starts of 2000. He made it into the eighth inning in only one of those six starts (a complete-game in start number six). Ironically, the one complete game was his only loss in the streak – a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tampa Bay in which Martinez gave up just six hits and one walk, while fanning 17. His mound opponent that day was Steve Trachsel, who pitched a three-hit shutout, walking three and fanning 11. In the first five games of the season, Martinez went seven innings four times and 7 1/3 once. He never gave up more than two earned runs in any of those contests.
Martinez finished the season at 18-6, with a league-best 1.74 earned run average and a league-leading 284 strikeouts in 217 innings. Winnings his third Cy Young Award.
In his seventh start of the 2000 season, Pedro Martinez continued his whiffing ways, shutting out the Orioles (9-0) on two hits, while walking none and fanning 15.
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Pedro Martinez, Red Sox – 66 strikeouts in his first six starts of 2001
Martinez went 3-0. 1.47 in his first six starts of 2001 (the Red Sox lost all three of his no-decisions). While he had no complete games in his run, he averaged just over seven innings a start. His best start in the string was an April 8 game against Tampa Bay, when he went eight innings, giving up just three hits and three walks, while fanning 16. In his three no-decisions, Martinez pitched 21 innings and gave up five earned runs (fanning 25). Martinez, who missed a month of the season (rotator cuff), finished the year 7-3, 2.39, with 163 strikeouts in 116 2.3 innings.
In his seventh start of 2001, Martinez picked up a win against the A’s – pitching seven innings and giving up four hits, no walks and one run, while fanning six.
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Curt Schilling, Phillies – 65 strikeouts in his first six starts of 1998
Curt Schilling lost two of the six games in his early-season (1998) strikeout streak – giving up three earned runs in seven innings in each of those contests. He also picked up three wins – and could have had a fourth with just a little support. In his first start (March 31, versus the Mets), Schilling went eight innings, giving up just two hits, walking one and fanning nine. He left the game after the eighth frame, with the score knotted at zero. The Mets eventually won 1-0 in fourteen innings.
Schilling finished the 1998 season at 15-14, 3.25 – leading the National league in complete games (15), innings pitched (268 2/3) and strikeouts (300).
In his seventh start of the 1998 campaign, Curt Schilling went seven innings versus the Astros, giving up five hits and two runs (one earned), while walking one and fanning 13. While he deserved better, he left the game trailing 2-1 and took the loss, as the Astros topped the Phillies 4-1.
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Shane Bieber, Indians – 65 strikeouts in his first six starts of 2020
Shane Bieber’s first six starts of 2020 earned him five victories (tied for the most among the pitchers on this list) and a 1.11 earned run average (lowest among the players on this list).
Bieber pitched the fewest innings of any player on the list (40 2/3 in is six starts), three times tossing just six frames. His longest outing was an eight-inning stint against the Twins, when he gave up just three hits, walked none and fanned 13. In four of his six outings, he held his opponents scoreless. Bieber’s only no-decision came against the White Sox on August 9, when he gave up three runs on four hits (two walks, eight whiffs) in six innings. The big hits were home runs by Jose Abreu and James McCann. The Indians won the game 5-4 in ten innings.
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