Baltimore Orioles’ pitching unit finds greater success in 2012 regular season - MLB Feature
Baltimore Orioles had a wonderful 2012 season where the team made it to the post-season for the first time since 1997. The team performed well all around and it was the joint effort of the players that got the club moving forward after 14 consecutive losing
seasons.
Pitching was one of the main factors that helped the team. There was a marked difference in the performance of the pitching unit when one compares it with the numbers posted in 2011. This year the average ERA was 3.90 as opposed to 4.89 in 2011. The WHIP
also came down to 1.29 from the 1.45 from the previous year.
The team’s pitchers also made 18 more quality starts in 2012, showing an improvement in pitching quality and reliability. The number of saves by the relief pitchers went up to 55 in 2012 from 32 in 2011, allowing more wins in tight situations. The pitchers
also had nine more holds in 2012.
The team did not lose a single game when it had the lead at the end of the seventh inning, showing great relief pitching work.
Pitching quality can also be assessed by the fact that the team had a 29-9 winning record in games where the final margin was just one run. There record in two-run games was 25-14. The pitching unit also did a great job in extra inning games, with a winning
record of 16-2 in 2012.
There were some great individual performances during the season by the Orioles’ pitchers. These were not limited only to starting pitchers but also there were some astounding performances by the relief pitchers, making the success a greater possibility for
the team.
A total of 26 pitchers were used by the ball club in 2012 regular season. The pick was quite easily rookie pitcher left-handed Wei-Yin Chen.
Wei started in all 32 of his regular season games, maintaining a 12-11 winning record. The 27-year-old Taiwanese player had 17 quality starts.
In 192 innings, Wei struck-out 154 batters. His 4.02 ERA was slightly above the team average and had a WHIP of 1.26, which was lower than the average posted. Wei was one of the contenders of the American League Rookie of the Year Award as well.
Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez posted similar numbers, winning nine games each. Tillman posted a 2.93 ERA where as Gonzalez posted a slightly higher 3.25 and the duo posted 1.05 and 1.21 WHIP respectively.
When it comes to relief pitching, Jim Johnson was the very best Major League Baseball saw in 2012 and was the Orioles’ trusted man. He had a 2-1 winning record but his 51 saves during the season were unmatched. Johnson posted an impressive ERA of 2.49
In over 68 innings that he pitched in, Johnson had 41 strike-outs and only surrendered three home-runs. He also posted a 1.02 WHIP, which is more than acceptable.
There were many others, who played their part in the success of the team with their pitching prowess in 2012 such as Pedro Strop, Steve Johnson, Darren O’Day and Tommy Hunter amongst others.
The 2012 performance by the Orioles was a truly a team effort, be it in hitting or pitching. Every member of the team played his part in the success of the club. The pitchers were a major part of the resurgence that saw the Orioles play their first post-season
in a decade and a half. Such team efforts in the future will certainly ensure much more success for the Baltimore’s ball club.
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