And...I can't even believe what a big number I'm about to type here...remember that MLB average is 100, and last year's Cy Young winners Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum had ERA+ of 175 and 167, respectively.
OK, are you ready? Zack Greinke's ERA+ is 1173. Yeah, four digits. One thousand, one hundred seventy-three.
Rany:
Greinke has four starts in his career with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Every other pitcher to suit up for the Royals in their history has combined for four such starts: one by Gordon, one by Gubicza, one by Johnson, and one by Rich Gale.
Sam Mellinger, KC Star:
It’s an hour or so before Zack Greinke’s first pitch, and Billy Butler is talking to a teammate.“I’m guaranteeing a shutout tonight,” Butler says. “What do you think?”
Joe Posnanski:
This from brilliant reader Rob: Dating back to last year, Greinke has won nine consecutive starts, and in those nine starts he has an 0.69 ERA. How good is that? Well, legendary. There have been 50 pitches since 1954 who have won nine or more consecutive starts. Greinke’s is the second-best.**The best of those by ERA?
1. Bob Gibson, 1968: 12-0, 0.50 ERA.
Note for posterity: Gibson completed all 12 of those games.2. Zack Greinke, 2008-09: 9-0, 0.69 ERA
POSTSCRIPT: From Posnanski, a trip down memory lane to 2003.
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