Trivia: Controlled Heat
 

There are 3 pitchers who have averaged 5 strikeouts per walk thrown in their career (Minimum 1,000 innings pitched).

2 of them are active and one pitched in the 19th century.

Name the 3 pitchers.

Is Degrom still considered active?

Glasnow, Skenes?

No guess read question wrong

Yes! deGrom tops the list with 5.41 K/BB.



Great guesses, but Glasnow is at 3.43 K/BB (although he was over 5 K/BB in two different seasons.) Skenes is at 5.31 K/BB, but doesn’t have the requisite 1,000 innings pitched (sorry that I omitted that qualification in the original question).

Kershaw has to be close

Kershaw is a great guess. He is 9th all-time with 4.38 Ks/BB.

The other active guy did win a Cy Young though.

I was a little surprised to realize Mariano wouldn't have been one of those guys.

Well Rivera is up there in the top 20 with 4.1 Ks/BB

How about Pedro?

Pedro is just ahead of Mariano at 4.15 K/BB

I'm looking for one active player and one guy from the 19th century.

Scherzer?

A great guesses, but Scherzer is at 4.51 K/BB, and is in the top 10.

Chris Sale

Correct John! Chris Sale is second all time with 5.31 K/BB.

Just looking for the last guy, who was from Ireland and pitched in the 19th century.

Just as an aside, it's fascinating how people ignore the clues.

Jim McCormick? Going solely with the "Mc" here.

Haha, good logic, but McCormick was from Glasgow, Scotland.

As a reliever who pitched only 10 years or so he didn't have nearly enough innings for this thread, but Uehara's ratio is unreal, over 7.

And how about Chris Martin's 7.93? Excited about him possibly being the Rangers' closer this year - I love both old pitchers and pitchers with great k/w ratios.

Man, take away Sale's freak injuries, and he would have some really impressive numbers especially after last year. Not that they are bad, he is still a borderline HOFer I think.

Let’s not forget Billy Wagner’s 11.9 K/BB over 903 innings.

Damn. I guess it can be deceptive, at least in the post season he seemed at times just to be grooving fastballs.

:p

Could it be the Kilroy (Jack Kilroy?) who struck out 513 batters in 1886?

I believe you are thinking of Matt Kilroy who set the single season strikeout record of 513 as a rookie in 1886 (in 583 innings). Unfortunately, he also walked 182 batters that year, and his career total was only 1.55 K/BB.

Oddly, Kilroy pitched even more innings in his 2nd year, yet his strikeouts dipped to only 217 in 589 innings.

Great guess though!

The Irish player I am thinking of retired two years before Kilroy took the mound in the Majors. He had a career WAR of 60.9 and his initials were TB.

Bond, Tommy Bond.

You got it! Tommy Bond finished his career with 5.04 K/BB in his career.

Bond led the NL in strikeouts twice, with a career high of 182, but never walked more than 45 in a season.

Bond once pitched 555 innings in a season and walked just 24 batters.

Bond ranks 3rd all time in strikeouts per walk (behind deGrom and Sale) and is the only 19th century player in the top 20.

Well done!