Top Ten American League pitchers of 2011 MLB regular season – Part 2
The 2011 MLB regular season came with many expectations and left leaving behind some pleasures and many regrets. However, many pitchers have astonished the entire circles with their unmatched performances. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers holds the
top position with 24 wins, followed by the New York Yankees’ Carsten Charles Sabathia with 19 wins. Jered Weaver and Dan Haren of Los Angeles Angels managed to gain third and the fourth place respectively.
Although it is difficult to decide which pitcher should be given the fifth place as six of the other players have the same number of wins, but the Texas Rangers’ C.J. Wilson tossed the golden pitches of the season. Among the players who snatched the same
number of wins, Wilson was the most economical. He managed his ERA to just 2.94 to snatch 16 wins and lost only seven games in his 34 starts of the season. His contribution took the Rangers first into the ALDS and then helped them enter into the ALCS.
Statically, Wilson holds the fourth position, but looking at the quality of the pitches he made throughout the season, it does not seem the player has been played up. His winning percentage .696 is actually the fifth best in American League. Among the sports
which are dominated by the right-handers, Wilson exhibited and recorded his name in top ten in seven categories as a left-hander. His 223.1 innings are the tenth best, but despite low number of innings he has taken 206 strike-outs for sixth position and allowed
only 74 walks to secure the seventh place in AL.
A close competition between James Shields of Tampa Bay Rays and Gio Gonzalez of Oakland Athletics resulted in favour of the right-hander James. Both having a 16-12 record was equally valuable for their clubs, but Shields earned more points in ERA to beat
his old rival. The 5-year veteran pitcher managed to hold his ERA to just 2.82, third lowest in the AL and won the battle for sixth place, though Gio’s performance was crucial for the struggling Athletics.
James pitched 249.1 innings in 33 starts and took 225 strike-outs, third in AL another positive point for him, to send Gonzalez to seventh place. Shields is the Number one in the American League for pitching eleven completed games. 2011 season proved to
be one of the best seasons of Shields’ career, as he was nominated to the All-Star game for the first time in his career. He was also named the Most Valuable Player for the Tampa Bay Rays by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Gonzalez lacks behind only in ERA and innings pitched, otherwise his phenomenal performance was a distinction in the A’s 2011 season. The lefty recorded the same 16-12 numbers, but with a little more expensive 3.12 ERA in 32 starts. Despite snatching a career-high
16 wins, one negative point that put the Gonzalez at seventh place was his first place in most allowed walks in the American League. Gonzalez, however also secured his place in most strike-outs.
The 2011 MLB regular season was plagued with controversies but the crushing performance of the pitchers did not bore the fans. They kept on their best performances and destroyed even the most destructive batters in the MLB. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Josh
Hamilton, Prince Fielder, Nelson Cruz all had to create some new techniques in order to beat these top pitchers of the American League.
Continued in Part 3
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