By Paul Semendinger
May 30, 2024
***
The first great Yankees' pitching performance I ever saw was Ron Guidry in 1978. He won his first 13 decisions. He was amazing. I thought that Guidry must be the greatest pitcher of all-time. (Of course, I was nine-years-old so my perspectives on history were a bit skewed.) Still, looking back Guidry's great start in 1978 (his whole season, of course) we can see that he was something else.
Maybe it is a case of things never being as great as they seemed when you're a kid, but I have never seen a pitcher dominate like Guidry did all those years ago...
Until now.
At the end of May 1978, Guidry's numbers were:
10 starts
9-1 record
76.2 innings
62 hits
24 walks
54 strikeouts
16 earned runs
1.88 ERA
1.12 WHIP
One can make a strong case that Luis Gil's 2024 through May is every bit as good as Guidry's... and maybe even better:
11 starts
7-1 record
63.1 innings
29 hits
31 walks
79 strikeouts
14 earned runs
1.99 ERA
0.947 WHIP
This isn't just good, it's crazy good. It's crazy great. And it's better than great because, if the 2024 Luis Gil had a fatal flaw, it was that he walked too many batters - and he learned, on the fly, to fix that problem.
Here is a quick rundown of Gil's starts in 2024:
April 1: 4.2 ip, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts, 1 earned run, 3 walks
April 7: 4.1 ip, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 earned runs, 4 walks
April 15: 5 ip, 3 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 earned runs, 7 walks (LOSS)
April 21: 5.2 ip, 2 hits, 9 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 3 walks (WIN)
April 26: 5 ip, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts, 5 earned runs, 2 walks
That was very very very good, but then came May:
6. May 1: 6.1 ip, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 1 walk (WIN)
7. May 7: 6 ip, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, 1 earned run, 4 walks (WIN)
8. May 12: 6 ip, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 2 walks (WIN)
9. May 18: 6 ip, 5 hits, 14 strikeouts, 1 earned run, 1 walk (WIN)
10. May 23: 6.1ip, 1 hit, 8 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 2 walks (WIN)
11. May 29: 8 ip, 2 hits, 9 strikeouts, 1 earned run, 2 walks (WIN)
That was an AMAZING month. And look how the walks dropped, by a ton:
Five April starts - 19 walks
Six May starts - 12 walks
Luis Gil should be considered for the American League Pitcher of the Month. He was that good, but, more, even more, right now, he just might be a favorite for not just the Cy Young Award, but, if he can somehow keep this up, the MVP as well.
Luis Gil is turning in one of the best pitching performances in Yankees history, or at least since 1978...
***
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