There are two pitchers. One is Mike “Opening” Day (nephew of former Expos great Boots Day) and the other is Dave “Second” Start (also related to a ballplayer, his great-great grandfather, 19th-Century standout Joe Start). Here are their lines:
The Great No. 1 Starter Dropoff of 2013
eBay Item of the Day
W-L | ERA | K:BB | WHIP | Ave GS | |
Day | 12-11 | 2.96 | 3.1:1 | 1.15 | 58 |
Start | 10-14 | 5.00 | 2.3:1 | 1.44 | 47 |
OK, we can’t fool you. There are no such guys. These are the composite starts of every team’s 2013 Opening Day pitchers along with the composite line of what they did their second time to the mound. You could probably sense how poorly it was going for them as the scores rolled in, but probably didn’t realize just how bad it was. Of the 30, 21 posted lower Game Scores in their second starts, dropping an average of 21 points. Nine improved to the tune of 15 each. The second time around, they pitched about five fewer innings, but surrendered 37 more hits and 39 more earned runs while striking out 23 fewer batters and walking 10 more men. (The divide isn’t quite so great if you remove from the mix Matt Cain and the unpleasantness he experienced against the Cardinals.)
Now I’m wondering if something like this happens every year.
See More:
