Phillies Cliff Lee – An Amazing September

Philiies NewsPhiladelphia Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee had himself quite a September. In 39.0 innings, the 35 year-old hurler had a 1.85 ERA and 1.55 FIP. Most impressively, he tallied 54 strikeouts against just 1 walk, for a 54/1 K/BB ratio. Put another way, he struck out 37.5% of hitters, and his walk rate was a minuscule 0.7%.

After seeing these eye-popping numbers, I did a little digging to see if any pitcher has had a better September, just in terms of walks and strikeouts.

With regards to K/BB ratio, Lee’s 54/1 is the best September in baseball history. From the viewpoint of K-BB%, Pedro Martinez 1999 steps in his way. Martinez, whose 1999 season is, in my opinion, the best season for a pitcher in baseball history, struck out 70 hitters in 41.0 innings, with just 6 walks. His strikeout and walk rates were 46.7% and 4.0%, respectively.

Keep in mind that league strikeout rates were 15.8% and 9.4% in 1999, compared to 19.9% and 7.7% in 2013. Besides Pedro in ’99, nobody can top Lee’s September K-BB rate. If I were to adjust for league average strikeout and walk rates, Pedro’s 2000 and teammates Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2001 and a few others would surpass Lee. 

Cliff Lee is like a fine wine that gets better with age. He struggled in his first full season in 2004 at the age of 25. Lee had a solid year in 2005, but followed that up with a couple of mediocre ones. Since 2008, Lee has compiled more WAR than any other pitcher, and his 3.7% walk rate is also better than all other pitchers.

Other than a slight drop in fastball velocity, Lee shows no signs that his skills are declining. His 25.3% strikeout rate was the second-best of his career, and his walk rate was similarly good. His ERA and FIP were in line with his best years, and he continues to throw strikes at a 70% rate.

Lee’s run of dominance from the age of 29-35 is remarkable, and has almost been overlooked because his won-loss record has been unspectacular. If you don’t believe that a pitcher’s W-L record is of little value, take note of this. Despite an ERA/FIP of 2.89/2.85 from 2008-13, Lee’s 85-50 record carries almost the same winning percentage as his 54-36 record from 2002-07 when he had an ERA/FIP of 4.63/4.60.

Cliff Lee is special in more ways than one, and his spectacular September should remind baseball fans that, at the age of 35, Lee is still one of the five best pitchers in baseball.