December 4, 2015

David Price Will Wear #24

Red Sox pitcher David Price will wear #24.

During Friday's introductory press conference, when asked about his 0-8 postseason record as a starting pitcher, Price replied: "I was just saving all my postseason wins for the Red Sox. I know good things are going to happen to me in October. ... That time is coming for me, and hopefully, it's in 2016."

ESPN asks (and answers) the question: What makes Price so good?
He threw 67 percent first-pitch strikes last season, which ranked 11th among pitchers who qualified for the ERA title. He ranked third in that stat in each of the previous two seasons. ...

Price's changeup has evolved into one of the best pitches in the game. ... Opponents have hit .218 against the pitch since the trade to the Tigers, chasing it (swinging when it was out of the strike zone) 46 percent of the time (compared to 35 percent with the Rays). ...

He went to a three-ball count against only 14 percent of the hitters he faced, about five percentage points below the major-league average. Price is one of five pitchers who had a walks per 9 innings rate of less than 2.0 while qualifying for the ERA title in each of the last three seasons.

He averaged nearly seven innings per start last season. Over the last three seasons he trails only Clayton Kershaw in average innings pitched per start. In 2015, Price held opposing hitters to a .205/.240/.285 slashline when facing a hitter for the third time in a game. Their OPS was 240 points lower against him than the average pitcher facing a lineup for the third time last season.
David Ortiz talked a little bit more about why he is retiring at the end of 2016. ... Now that they are teammates, Ortiz has called off the "war" he said he had with Price.

2 comments:

BklynSoxFan said...

Actually, Price's postseason record is 2-7. His first postseason win was in relief in Game 2 of the 2008 ALCS against our boys. He also got a postseason win this past year in the ALDS against Texas.

BklynSoxFan said...

On second look, Price got both wins in relief, so the statement about Price not getting any wins as a starter in the postseason is correct. Thousand pardons, Allan.