Though the last week of the regular season didn’t really end on a high note, the Brewers are definitely celebrating their pitching staff: Corbin Burnes was awarded the NL ERA title; The first pitcher in Brewers franchise to do so.
A Memorable Season
Burnes finished off the regular season with a 2.43 ERA, ranked first among all pitchers across MLB. Los Angeles’ Dodgers pitchers Walker Buehler (2.47) and Max Scherzer (2.46) finished right behind Burnes. While those two were the favored ones for the Cy Young Award in the National League, Corbin Burnes has truly solidified his spot as the best pitcher in all of baseball.
The righty has made history all season; Ranking first in nearly all of the league’s metrics.
Good morning. Corbin Burnes now leads all Major League Baseball starters in:
-fWAR
-ERA
-ERA+
-DRA
-FIP (second-best mark ever)
-K%
-K-BB%
-HR/9
-CSW%
-OPS against
-xSLG
-xwOBA
-and moreThat is all.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) September 30, 2021
On top of those, Burnes tied an MLB record, recording 10 consecutive strikeouts against the Chicago Cubs on August 11. He also recorded 58 strikeouts before ever issuing a walk this season. The most notable accomplishment would probably be throwing a combined no-hitter with Josh Hader; The first time since 1987 when Juan Nieves threw one against the Orioles.
Corbin Burnes’ 2.43 ERA is ranked second among franchise history; Right behind Mike Caldwell’s ERA of 2.36 in 1978. Bringing this title home to Milwaukee is huge; Jeff D’Amico could’ve brought it home nearly two decades ago, but in his final outing, he allowed 10 hits and six earned runs against the Reds. His ERA then rose to 2.66, dropping him to third place.
He leads the league in strikeout rate (35.6 percent), FIP (1.62), WAR (7.5), homeruns per nine (0.4), strikeout per nine (12.6), ERA+ (176), and strikes to walks (6.88).
Burnes’ last outing was on Saturday against the LA Dodgers where he only went two innings; While it may seem like a short outing for a guy who’s thrown an almost complete game, it was the smart move.
It’s likely that we will see Burnes on the mound for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Making sure the starting pitchers are healthy going into this postseason is going to be key for the Brewers’ success.
Cy Burnes
Picture Credit: The Athletic
While Burnes’ 0.94 WHIP ranked second behind Max Scherzer, all of his other metrics put him at the top of winning the NL Cy Young Award. It was said for a while that Max Scherzer should win the award once again, but his season wasn’t as impressive as everyone thought it was.
Since joining the Dodgers, Scherzer has been a vital piece to the team; In his last outing against the San Diego Padres, he went 5 1/3, tagging on five earned runs, struck out four and walked none. Scherzer leads the league in WHIP (0.86), and his ERA dropped to 2.46 just behind Burnes.
With a Cy Young Award under his belt already, it would come to no surprise to have Scherzer in that conversation once again. However, in terms of metrics and overall season performance, Burnes takes the cake. It would be the first time in nearly forty years that a Brewer brings home that hardware; The last time a Brewer won the award was in 1981 with Rollie Fingers and 1982 with Pete Vuckovich in the American League.
As of now, it’s in the hands of the voters to make the right decision and determine who will take home the prestigious titles for the 2021 season.
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