You know what Game Score is, right? It’s Bill James’ formula for grading a pitcher’s performance in any start. Fifty is average, and 100 is almost as good as it gets.
The Unluckiest One
The best game scores so far this season are Philip Humber’s perfect game (9K’s, 0BBs) and Matt Cain’s 1-hit shutout on April 13 (11K’s, 0BBs). They both scored a 96. The greatest game score of all time was Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game (1H, 0BBs) on May 6, 1998. It scored a 105.
So what’s the best performance by a losing pitcher in the last 20 years? Answer after the jump...
Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO HR BFPKevin Appier L 9 1 1 1 1 11 1 28
That’s a game score of 91. The winning pitcher that day:
Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR BFPKenny Rogers W 8.2 9 0 0 0 4 0 32
That’ a 70.
And Texas had a much better offense, to boot. Still, we know what the experts would say: Appier pitched well enough to lose.
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