Some passing thoughts on Craig Kimbrel
I'll have Rolaids and a Scotch
There was a time when Rolaids was the sponsor for Reliever of the Year since a pitcher of this ilk, like Rolaids, brought relief. On the other hand, there’s Craig Kimbrel, whose appearances bring enough agita that Rolaids are a necessity.
It’s hard to quantify, at least for me, what Kimbrel does on the mound that makes him such an arsonist, but here are some numbers to consider. And if you have some others, I would appreciate them.
Kimbrel started his career with the Braves in 2010, moved on to the Padres in 2015, the Red Sox in 2016, and the Cubs in 2019. Since 2021, he has pitched for the Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, and Phillies.
Kimbrel has a 2.40 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, a .166 BAA, and a .536 OPSA in 780 games in the regular season.
Kimbrel has a 4.66 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, a .221 BAA, and a .763 OPSA in 29 games in the postseason.
What have you done for me lately?
Let’s acknowledge that in Kimbrel’s first four full big league season he was as good a reliever as you could want. He was Rookie of the Year in 2011, and All-Star from 2011-2014, leading the NL in saves those four seasons. He received Cy Young votes each season and MVP votes in the first three seasons.
So let’s move on. Let’s move past the Braves era and the season with the Padres.
In 2016, Kimbrel joined the Red Sox and pitched in the postseason for them in 2016, 2017, and 2018. He pitched for the Cubs in the 2020 postseason and as we await Game 6 of the NLCS, he has pitched in six postseason games for the 2023 Phillies.
Since 2016, Kimbrel has a 5.64 ERA, a 1.70 WHIP, a .256 BAA, and a .869 OPSA in 23 games (22.1 IP) in the postseason.
In 23 games, he has not allowed a baserunner in six of them, and two were in 2016. He’s allowed at least two baserunners in 11 appearances and at least four baserunners in five appearances.
In 23 games, he has allowed 11 extra-base hits including four homers.
In 22.1 innings pitched pitched, he has walked 16 batters.
In the 23 postseason games since 2016, he is 0-2 and has saved 9 of 10, but is it worth this aggravation? Look at these splits:
Forget the Rolaids; get me this.
