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The End of Schmidt

(H/T to Lefty for reminding me of this bit ‘o news.)

After enduring another season plagued by injuries, Jason Schmidt is preparing to hang up his pitching cleats and retire from baseball — most likely.

“Just leaving my options open,” he said. “At this moment, no, I’m not thinking about pitching anymore. Down the road, I’m not sure. Initially, I’d say no way. I’m not planning on playing at this moment. In my mind, I retired when I left in August.”

Even though Schmidt didn’t leave the Giants on great terms he was one of the best pitchers in modern Giants history, if not the best.

Giants SP since the team moved to SF in 1958 ranked by ERA+ (min. of 600 IP)

Rk Player ERA+ IP From To
1 Jason Schmidt 126 1069.2 2001 2006
2 Juan Marichal 125 3444.0 1960 1973
3 Matt Cain 124 872.1 2005 2009
4 Gaylord Perry 119 2294.2 1962 1971
5 Johnny Antonelli 114 636.0 1958 1960
6 Sam Jones 112 633.0 1959 1961
7 Noah Lowry 109 618.1 2003 2007
8 John Montefusco 105 1182.2 1974 1980
9 Rick Reuschel 104 601.0 1987 1991
10 Ed Halicki 103 1027.2 1974 1980

I was surprised to see Schmidt edge out Marichal by ERA+. The Top-10 is a pretty good group to be associated with. There’s a couple of HoF’s (Marichal, Perry) mixed in with a bunch of guys that had some truly great years. Does Matt Cain’s ranking surprise anyone. It really shouldn’t. He’s been very good since he put on a Giants uniform.

Schmidt’s Giants career:

Year Age W L ERA G IP H R BB SO ERA+ BB/9 SO/9
2001 28 7 1 3.39 11 66.1 57 29 33 65 118 4.5 8.8
2002 29 13 8 3.45 29 185.1 148 78 73 196 112 3.5 9.5
2003 30 17 5 2.34 29 207.2 152 56 46 208 179 2.0 9.0
2004 31 18 7 3.20 32 225.0 165 84 77 251 136 3.1 10.0
2005 32 12 7 4.40 29 172.0 160 90 85 165 97 4.4 8.6
2006 33 11 9 3.59 32 213.1 189 94 80 180 125 3.4 7.6
W L ERA G IP H R BB SO ERA+ BB/9 SO/9
SFG (6 yrs) 78 37 3.36 162 1069.2 871 431 394 1065 126 3.3 9.0

Most will remember Jason for his 2003 season. That was the year when he led the NL in ERA and ERA+. He struck out a batter per inning and only walked two batters per 9. Just a dominant season and one of the best ever for a Giants pitcher. He followed it up with a very, very good 2004 and then battled injuries his last two years with the Giants. Check out his BB/9 in 2005. A red flag for arm problems? In Schmidt’s last season with the Giants he pitched quite well but to the casual observer he was a different pitcher. His 95+ mph fastball was closer to 90 mph and his declining K/9 seems to back up the velocity loss.

If you’re a Giants fan, it should be pretty easy to ignore the 3-year deal Schmidt signed with the Dodgers. When it comes down to it, he’s one of the best pitchers in Giants history and we should all be thankful that we got to watch him in his prime, throwing heaters and nasty changeups while wearing a Giants uni.

All data courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

One Comment

  1. ADoc1980 says:

    Nice one. Schmidt was always a favorite of mine. Too bad he’s had the health problems, but indeed he will be remembered fondly among Giants fans.

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