Giants’ Greatest Pitching Trios

So, having done so for hitters, I thought I should give pitching trios their due.  Here is a list of the top ten Giant pitching trios since 1900, ranked by Baseball Reference’s “runs above average” (RAA), which is the number of runs better than average a pitcher is, adjusted for quality of opposition, park factors, and the quality of the pitcher’s own defense, and then centered so that the league average is zero.

 

Best Pitching Trios Since 1900 by Runs Above Average
Year Total RAA Name RAA Name RAA Name RAA
1903 145 J McGinnity 75 C Mathewson 64 R Ames 6
1912 108 C Mathewson 45 R Marquard 33 J Tesreau 30
1965 106 J Marichal 59 B Shaw 24 B Bolin 23
2009 106 T Lincecum 50 M Cain 40 J Affeldt 16
1911 101 C Mathewson 46 R Marquard 36 R Ames 19
1966 94 J Marichal 51 G Perry 25 B Bolin 18
1913 89 C Mathewson 39 R Marquard 25 J Tesreau 25
1954 89 J Antonelli 44 M Grissom 23 S Maglie 22
1904 88 J McGinnity 53 C Mathewson 21 L Taylor 14
1933 88 C Hubbell 51 H Schumacher 27 H Bell 10

 

1903 was a phenomenal year, with Joe McGinnity and Christy Mathewson accounting for more value than any three pitchers in any of the other years. The pair had another outstanding year in 1904.  We see the usual names — Mathewson, Hubbell, Marichal.  (How did the Giants not win the pennant in 1965?  I think there’s a future post there somewhere.) 2009 of course was a fabulous year for Lincecum and for Cain.  What of 2010, when Giants pitching carried them to a World Series victory?  No trio dominated that staff.  In fact, seven pitchers had a RAA that was double digits above average:

M Cain 25
T Lincecum 19
J Sanchez 19
M Bumgarner 16
B Wilson 16
S Casilla 11
S Romo 11

 

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One Response to Giants’ Greatest Pitching Trios

  1. Kiwiwriter says:

    If my grandfather was alive, he’d go with the 1912 crew…he saw them live.

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