Webb’s streak a milestone for the ages

“The streak” has many connotations among baseball enthusiasts.

The first streak that comes to mind is probably Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting mark—perhaps the sport’s most famous record.

Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played record at 2,632 would obviously qualify as a momentous baseball streak.

However, baseball fans have spent the past month focused on Orel Hershiser’s 59 consecutive scoreless innings streak and Brandon Webb’s remarkable run on that record.

The Diamondbacks’ ace gave up his first run since July 20 in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, ending his scoreless streak at 42 1/3.

The mark puts Webb at 21 on the all-time list, but only Hershiser has thrown more consecutive scoreless innings since baseball adopted the two-division format in 1969.

While everyone agrees that Webb has been spectacular during his last six starts, his streak has not received nearly enough attention on a national level.

Consider the following:

When Hershiser set his record in 1988, the National League scored an average of 3.88 runs per game with a batting average of .248.

On the other end of the spectrum, Webb is pitching in a league that scores an average of 4.64 runs per contest while hitting .264.

Only four teams—the Mets, Giants, Pirates and Cubs—averaged more than four runs a game in 1988, while 15 of the 16 NL teams in 2007 average more than 4.27 runs.

On a related note, the Washington Nationals are the worst offensive team in baseball, but they would be ranked fifth in the NL in 1988 at 3.93 runs per game.

More homers in today's game

Only two batters—Darryl Strawberry and Glenn Davis—hit more than 30 home runs in the 1988 National League.

If Prince Fielder’s 2007 season ended today, his 39 home runs would match Strawberry’s output.

Currently, five NL hitters—Fielder, Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera—have hit 30 home runs or more.

By the way, five weeks still remain in the regular season.

In stark contrast, pitching staffs were much stronger in 1988 than they are today. The league ERA was 3.45, compared to 4.38 today.

Two NL teams—the Mets and Dodgers—had team ERAs under three, while the 2007 San Diego Padres (ERA 3.51) would’ve been considered one of 1988’s weakest pitching units.

The Philadelphia Phillies had the National League’s worst ERA at 4.14 in Hershiser’s era, but in 2007, they would be in the mix with the Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Giants and Diamondbacks as one of the league’s elite pitching staffs behind the Padres.

In addition, specialized relief pitching hadn’t taken hold in 1988. Five pitchers threw at least 10 complete games, led by Hershiser’s 15. This season, Webb leads the league with four.

Webb is on pace to throw 249 innings this season, which would put him No. 1 in baseball by a wide margin.

However, five National League hurlers threw at least 249 frames, led by Hershiser’s 267.

There simply aren’t as many opportunities for today’s starting pitcher to throw this many innings.

For most 2007 pitching staffs, the closer is just as valuable as a No. 1 starter. Five relievers—led by Jose Valverde’s 39—have tallied at least 30 saves, with five weeks to add to that total.

In 1988, only John Franco, Jim Gott and Todd Worrell notched 30 saves.

Situational relievers and expanded bullpens have cut down the modern starter’s workload, but it has also cut into his chances to challenge Hershiser’s scoreless innings record.

Webb is pitching in an era where the baseball’s are harder and ballparks are smaller. With the notable exceptions of Safeco Field in Seattle and RFK Stadium in Washington, the vast majority of major league ballparks have been set up to favor the offense.

In addition, Webb has shined while baseball continues to investigate the influence of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs on this era’s unbelievable offensive statistics.

Clearly, the deck has been stacked against the pitcher for the past few years, but Webb somehow found a way to keep opponents off the scoreboard from July 20 through Aug. 22.

Webb's victims

After beginning his streak in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs, Webb tossed his first shutout on July 25 against the Florida Marlins—a seven-inning, six-hit, eight-strikeout performance.

His next gem came on July 31 against the Padres—Arizona’s main competition in the NL West.

Webb gave up three hits in seven strong innings.

On Aug. 5, Webb entered another stratasphere, when he toyed with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the course of nine lopsided innings.

Webb tossed yet another complete-game shutout on Aug. 11 against the Nationals. With Arizona struggling to mount any kind of offense, it needed Webb to keep Washington’s offense in check.

He did.

Only six batters reached base against Webb, who struck out 10 in the 1-0 D-backs win.

Webb delivered his third consecutive complete-game shutout against the high-powered Atlanta Braves on Aug. 17.

This might have been Webb’s best pitching performance. The Braves—who average five runs per game—didn’t stand a chance.

Only three men reached base, but with the aid of a double play, Webb faced one more batter than the minimum. Seventy-three of Webb’s 102 pitches went for strikes.

When Webb struggles, it’s due to his inability to control his devastating sinker. However, he walked only six batters during his scoreless streak.

While Webb’s streak ended early on Wednesday, it was the aftermath that proved why Webb is on the cusp of continuing another impressive streak—two straight Cy Young awards.

After Fielder’s RBI single in the first inning, Webb didn’t seem rattled at all that his scoreless streak had been broken.

In fact, he settled in like nothing had happened and tossed seven strong innings to give Arizona the 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers and end a three-game losing streak.

“The numbers will show right now, especially here recently, that he’s been about as good as he’s ever been in his career,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin told The Associated Press.

The numbers will also show that Webb magical month will rank as one of baseball’s most impressive individual accomplishments in recent history.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747