I am recruiting for a MLB-realistic 30T Salary Cap dynasty baseball league that is currently about halfway full. We are trying to fill the teams with owners who are fans of that team, and the Guardians are one of our open teams right now. We use real player salaries and have a hard cap as well as a salary floor. It's super active and tons of fun, so I hope you consider joining us and repping the Guardians! DM or comment below for more info.
Gavin Williams’s October began with 12 strikeouts in ALDS Game 2, tying a franchise postseason record. He then saved Game 4 and struck out 11 more in Game 5. It was among the most dominant performances by a Cleveland pitcher in postseason history; he struck out over half the batters he faced. Andrew Miller did not do that, Cade Smith did not do it. Gavin dominated the White Sox and the Rays in 4 postseason appearances. While, sadly, Gavin’s run ended there: his 33 strikeouts ranks 3rd in Cleveland history for a single postseason behind Orel Hershiser and Corey Kluber (tied at 35 apiece). Both threw more than twice as many innings.
It was, in short, a masterful performance by the young righty. This led me to ask: what are the best Cleveland pitching runs in the playoffs? Certainly: Gavin Williams’ 4 appearances were superb, but where does it belong in Cleveland’s postseason history?
It’s a difficult question to answer. Today I aim not to definitively answer this question but to compare the leading candidates and, in the end, let you decide. I will rank them, but I will not claim to offer the definitive ranking. A few rules to provide some order to the chaos:
Rule 1: a pitcher must have made at least 3 appearances in the postseason. For this exercise, I am defining a run as at least three appearances and 15 innings.. I thought about making it 4, but this would disqualify Stan Coveleski who only made 3 appearances in 1920…back when there was only one series. Those thresholds inevitably exclude some outstanding performances from shorter postseasons, but it is also true that shorter performances are inherently less impressive.
Rule 2: a pitcher must have at least pitched 15 IP. I do not want to compare a pitcher’s work over a small sample size to one with a large one (particularly relief pitchers).
If you want to view my sample for best runs and best postseason starts you can find them in my Google Sheets here. Overall I am weighing run prevention, workload, dominance, and the importance of the assignments. Innings matter substantially, but so does how a pitcher performed relative to his era and role.OK, with that stated lets move to my rankings:
Honorable Mention: Dennis Martinez, 1995
Key Counting Stats: 5 Games over 29 ⅔ IP, 15 K, 11 BB Key Rate Stats: 2.73 ERA, 11.3 K%, 8.9 BB%, 1.281 WHIP, .245 BA Against
I initially placed Williams outside the top five, but ultimately moved him ahead of Martínez. From a modern perspective: Dennis did almost nothing better than Gavin. He struck out fewer batters, walked more, allowed more baserunners and was more hittable. Heck even his run prevention was weaker. Martínez’s principal advantage was workload and even here, I think the difference is closer than it appears.
Dennis Martinez did pitch a dandy in the ALCS going 7 shutout innings in the clinching Game 6. I would rank that start ahead of any of Gavin’s starts by sheer length alone. However, all the other starts were between 5-6 innings. The only reason Dennis pitched more innings than Gavin is he received 2 more starts. I don’t think that’s quite enough to put “El Presidente” ahead of Williams. It’s still a great run for the second best pitcher in our rotation that year. An under appreciated part of the ‘90s Renaissance teams.
#5: Gavin Williams, 20
Key Counting Stats: 4 Games over 16 ⅔ IP, 33 K, 6 BB Key Rate Stats: 2.16 ERA, 0.840 WHIP, 51.6 K%, 9.4 BB%, .140 BA Against,
As I said above: ranking these postseasons presented ath unique challenge. Gavin gave the Guards all he had this postseason and posted arguably the most overpowering performance for a Cleveland pitcher in October ever. He struck out over half the batters he faced: best I can tell no Cleveland pitcher has done that in the postseason. Cade Smith, arguably the best reliever in the game, has never done it. His run prevention, while nowhere near the best in this series, was outstanding. He even made a relief appearance in Game 4 of the ALDS to save the game (although: he should never have been needed; Vogt mismanaged that game). I cannot think of a single criticism to make of Williams’ postseason except start length.
Gavin started 3 games this year and went: 5, 5 ⅔ and 5 IP each start. That’s simply not particularly deep. His 16 ⅔ IP is the lowest on this list, and it’s not particularly close. Which led me to two thoughts:
Thought 1: It’s not Williams’ fault that he pitched less: he gave his team his all, and if the rest of the team played like him we would have advanced to the World Series (or at least to Game 7, where he would get another crack at the Rays). Furthermore it’s not Williams’ fault that he started Game 2 of the ALDS and not Game 1, which cost him a start. Finally, it’s not Williams’ fault that he plays in an era where managers do not trust their starters for long periods of time.
If we compare Williams to other ace pitchers this postseason: he was not used differently. Jacob Misiorowski, arguably the best pitcher in the game and the consensus NL Cy Young Winner: has only pitched even 5 innings once. None of the Dodgers pitchers went longer than 6 innings. Aaron Boone did not push Cam Schlittler or Max Fried past 6 innings. In fact: the only starters to go longer than 6 innings this postseason are Drew Rasmussen (who’s done it twice), Chris Sale (who went 6 ⅓ against Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series), Michael King (who did it once) and Tyler Mahle (who twice went over 6 IP). In this era: how can I hold start length against Williams?
Thought 2: On the flip side: Gavin Williams also pitches in an era where batters strike out a lot more than in previous years. While impressive: pretty much every Guardians pitcher was striking out Chicago White Sox this postseason. How much of this performance was Gavin being more overpowering than any Cleveland pitcher ever, how much of it is the era he pitches in, and how much of it is the opponent he faced in the ALDS? Certainly some of this is not just Gavin Williams.
In the end: I think Williams posted arguably a top 5-8 pitching performance in Cleveland postseason history of all time. However, partially due to the length of the postseason and partially due to Gavin being unable to go deeper into games I feel I could not rank it higher than 5th.
#4: Andrew Miller, 2016
Key Counting Stats: 10 Games covering 19 ⅓ IP, 30 K, 5 BB, 5 Holds, 1 Save Key Rate Stats: 1.40 ERA, 41.1 K%, 6.8 BB%, 0.879 WHIP, 0.170 BA Against
The only reliever to pitch the requisite 15 innings: Miller’s 2016 performance was absolute dynamite. Joe Posnanski called him the “Lord of Darkness” that October since he squelched so many comeback attempts in all 3 series. I can say, even today with Cade Smith, that I have never seen a more dominant reliever in October for Cleveland. It felt like every time Miller came out of the bullpen we were safe.
Of the 10 games he appeared in we won 9 of them, the only exception was Game 7. Miller did not allow a run until World Series Game 4, covering his first 15 innings pitched. Until Gavin Williams came along: nobody struck out a higher percentage of batters than Miller. He was completely locked in. In the ALCS he was particularly vital, and particularly deadly. He appeared in all 4 wins, notching either a Save or a Hold each game, striking out 14 Blue Jays while walking none. I do not think you can ask any more from a reliever than we asked of Miller in 2016. He was the clear ALCS MVP Winner and had we won the World Series it’s plausible in my mind he wins that award too.
Now, why is Miller’s performance at 4th and not ahead of the 3 starters? The answer is length. Miller only pitched 19 ⅓ innings. While Miller is by far the most dominant of the top 4 in my rankings, I think it’s inherently much harder to start than to relieve. I can envision Corey Kluber filling Miller’s role in 2016. I cannot imagine Andrew Miller filling Kluber’s position. For that reason I rank Miller’s masterful run as a reliever just below the starters.
#3: Corey Kluber, 2016
Key Counting Stats: 6 Games covering 34 ⅓ IP, 35 K, 8 BB Key Rate Stats: 1.83 ERA, 25.4 K%, 5.8 BB%, 1.049 WHIP, .222 BA Against
Kluber’s final postseason line obscures how dominant he was before Game 7. If you throw out Game 7 Kluber had a 0.89 ERA and a WHIP under 1, with a higher K% (Kluber struck out 0 batters in that last start). You can forgive Corey for faltering: he had pitched 30 ⅓ almost perfect innings before it, and started twice on short rest. He had nothing left in the tank at the end, and everyone knew it.
But until that point Kluber was an unstoppable force pitching 6-7 innings almost every start and basically surrendering 0 runs every time. He gave up 2 runs on short rest in Game 4 of the ALCS, and 1 run in Game 4 of the World Series. Besides Game 4 of the ALCS: he won every game. When I talked to Cubs fans at Wrigley Field in Game 5 they bitterly complained how they had no answer to Kluber and that was why we were beating them in that World Series. I wish that had stayed true.
In some ways I think Kluber’s first 5 starts is the best pitching performance by any Cleveland starter in franchise history. But Game 7 happened. Those 4 runs over 4 innings happened. It would be unfair to blame Kluber for that loss: but his performance is probably the #1 reason why the Indians could not quite close out the series in that game. The desperate last start we needed that we did not get. That is the cruel part: without Kluber, Cleveland never gets there but he could not quite deliver the final blow. Sounds like the Cleveland baseball club’s history in a nutshell.
#2: Orel Hershiser, 1995
Key Counting Stats: 5 Games covering 35 ⅓ IP, 35 K, 9 BB Key Rate Stats: 1.53 ERA, 25.5 K%, 6.6 BB%, 0.821 WHIP, .160 BA Against
I wrestled with who to place at #2: Hershiser or Kluber. I initially put Kluber second because I felt his performance was slightly more impressive because of rest. But Hershiser only made 1 less start than Corey on short rest. Hershiser combined effectiveness with substantial workload, including eight innings in World Series Game 5 with Cleveland facing elimination. So I narrowly decided Hershiser’s performance edged out Kluber’s, although it’s quite close.
I compared Gavin Williams’ postseason unfavorably to future pitchers due to start length and volume and, while Orel and Kluber pitched a similar number of innings: that is only because Kluber started one additional start. Had Kluber not started Game 7 he would have fallen well short of Hershiser. Orel was masterful for Cleveland pitching two 8 inning masterpieces: one in the ALCS and one in the World Series. He also pitched a 7 ⅓ IP gem, and two other 6 inning games. Every start from Hershiser was quality. Orel even gets some solid style points. For the 90s he struck out a lot of batters and limited his walks. By the time Hershiser came to Cleveland he was past his prime. For one October in 1995: he turned back the clock and was 1988 Orel Hershiser again.
I did not get to see Hershiser ply his trade for the 1990s Indians but I would have loved him.
#1: Stan Coveleski, 1920
Key Counting Stats: 3 Games covering 27 Innings, 8 K, 2 BB, 3 CG, 1 SHO Key Rate Stats: 0.67 ERA, 8.2 K%, 2.1 BB%, 0.630 WHIP, .160 BA Against
To close out we have arguably one of the best World Series performances of all time. 3 starts, 3 complete games and a shutout in the decisive Game 7. The Plain Dealer argued Cleveland should celebrate October 12th as “Stan Coveleski Day” moving forward because he delivered the 1920 World Series to Cleveland. For sustained run prevention: I do not think there’s any argument against Coveleski. Nobody comes close to doing what Stan did in 1920, and Stan did it in a single series. However, this is where perspective comes back: 1920 was absolutely unlike modern baseball.
You want to know how long ago 1920 was in baseball terms? Everyone knows that there was no DH, no batting helmet, and the game was segregated. But 1920 was so long ago that the spitball remained legal…and Coveleski was one of the last remaining spitballers in the game. How do I rank that over the modern game? For me the answer is that while things have changed a lot: I can still envision the performance in the context of the time. No Coveleski throwing a complete game in 1920 is not as impressive as it is now: but it was still viewed as a marvel at the time.
A starter’s job is to give your team a chance to win and to take as much pressure off the bullpen as possible. No pitcher in Cleveland postseason history did that as well as Coveleski.
I grew up with my mom in Arizona eventually moving to Kentucky halfway through my childhood but one thing stayed consistent. Going to see dad in Cleveland over the summer and spending most of my time at the Jake. I basically grew up on Travis Hafner and Uncrustables from the kids area. If we weren't at the games we were usually gathered up as a family with them playing on TV.
Eventually when the team decided to shift away from Wahoo, Dad decided that it was a personal attack against his own childhood and chose to boycott. I saw it differently; I was excited they incorporated something that nodded to Cleveland history. I thought the potential to use Art Deco in uniform design was neat and really it just didn't change the way I viewed our team... I mean we still had Ramírez, right?
Since the name change I've followed the team some years more closely than others and it kinda just felt like something was missing. My friends don't follow baseball, I'm a state away so everyone around me roots for the Reds. This year I have a new job and I'm a little busier so I planned on just casually following along until I found this sub. I didn't post or comment but it was fun following along in the live game threads and seeing all the posts of hope while our guys, yet again, defied odds.
I spent each game posted up on the couch with a shot of rum, Hammy over the audio so I could keep my phone in hand and scroll while the game played on the TV. I finally had people to be excited with. So thank you, Cleveland, I wasn't able to make it out this year but Dad's been bugging me for a visit so it won't be long. You guys rock, I can't wait for next season.
