Top 5 starting rotations in baseball
By Robby Sabo
Because the Super Bowl is finally here, baseball fans everywhere rejoice as they finally hear the sounds of spring in their dreams.
In eight short days Super Bowl XLIX will be played. Russell Wilson’s defending champion Seattle Seahawks will face off against Tom Brady’s three-time champion New England Patriots.
The big question right now is the controversy surrounding the Patriots in their latest folly known as “Deflate-Gate.”
Regardless of the actions Roger Goodell and the league office takes against the Pats, it’s sure enough to not be handed down until after the Super Bowl. They’ve been infamous for taking the “stall” approach before, and it won’t change this time around.
As sure as there will be a Super Bowl Champion crowned next Sunday night, is as positive I am that the sounds of spring are right around the corner.
The bat cracking, the mits snapping and the peanut guy yelling at the top of his lungs is just about enough to drive the avid baseball fan wild.
It’s almost February which means the offseason’s nearing an end and rosters can now finally be examined. Which teams improved drastically this offseason and which ones are sure to falter?
If 2014 taught us anything, it was reaffirming the fact that pitching still gets it done. If offense and homeruns put fannies in the seats, then pitching wins championships. The San Francisco Giants and stud-pitcher Madison Bumgarner treated us oh so delightfully to that notion last October.
The team that led the National League in wins last year with 96 was the Washington Nationals. They were led by youngster Stephen Strasburg and a host of others to the tune of a 3.03 earned run average. Not surprisingly, that mark led the majors.
Ranking third in the league was Billy Beane’s Oakland Athletics at 3.22. While they most definitely faltered down the stretch, their dominant pitching was the reason for their most of the season dominance.
In fact, nine of the top 15 clubs clubs in the category of ERA made the postseason.
As the steroid era thankfully regresses more and more into the baseball history vault, the need for power decreases and speed, pitching and defense increases. General Managers have recognized this along with smart developing within your own organization as the new keys to success in the big leagues.
No more can the New York Yankees of the world buy aging veteran sluggers and get away with making the postseason every year. It worked in the past, but now Brian Cashman is starting to regret the old, tired veteran slugging team that is slowly crippling his organizational development. They’re stuck with hitters over the age of 30 and aside from Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances, have pitching whatsoever.
Out with the old and in with the new.
So, who are the new pitching monsters of baseball? Here’s my list of the top-five starting rotations in baseball at the current moment.
Next: Number 5