Career ERA+ 100 Or Better After 7+ ER In Debut

Posted by Steve Lombardi on May 20, 2011

Since 1919, there have been 96 pitchers to allow 7 earned runs or more in their first major league game. Of those 96, how many went on to have a big league career with a lifetime ERA+ of 100 or better?

Here's the list -

Rk	Player	ERA+	From	To	Age	G	GS	CG	SHO	GF	W	L	W-L%	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	HR	BF	IBB	HBP	BK	WP	Tm
1	Carlos Zambrano	125	2001	2011	20-30	304	267	9	4	6	120	76	.612	0	1738.0	1485	755	684	786	1480	3.54	137	7400	37	89	5	56	CHC
2	Jim Johnson	121	2006	2011	23-28	165	1	0	0	56	9	13	.409	12	194.0	193	81	79	66	131	3.66	14	827	7	8	2	8	BAL
3	Fred Hutchinson	113	1939	1953	19-33	242	169	81	13	48	95	71	.572	7	1464.0	1487	681	606	388	591	3.73	127	6142		14	2	16	DET
4	Hal Schumacher	111	1931	1946	20-35	391	329	138	26	38	158	121	.566	7	2482.1	2424	1080	926	902	906	3.36	140	10571		24	0	54	NYG
5	Wade Miller	111	1999	2007	22-30	151	147	5	1	2	62	46	.574	0	894.1	838	443	407	377	749	4.10	108	3833	15	27	0	25	HOU-BOS-CHC
6	Matt Garza	107	2006	2011	22-27	130	127	6	3	2	44	48	.478	1	781.0	754	377	343	276	640	3.95	87	3329	10	29	4	25	MIN-TBR-CHC
7	Whit Wyatt	106	1929	1945	21-37	360	210	97	17	101	106	95	.527	13	1761.0	1684	860	741	642	872	3.79	98	7521		33	2	24	DET-TOT-CHW-CLE-BRO-PHI
8	Jon Garland	104	2000	2011	20-31	350	327	11	6	9	132	117	.530	1	2067.1	2154	1093	990	694	1118	4.31	252	8822	36	60	1	46	CHW-LAA-TOT-SDP-LAD
9	Doug Davis	104	1999	2011	23-35	298	278	7	3	4	91	102	.472	0	1675.0	1758	886	814	758	1249	4.37	178	7395	27	42	10	63	TEX-TOT-MIL-ARI-CHC
10	Pete Vuckovich	104	1975	1986	22-33	286	186	38	8	67	93	69	.574	10	1455.1	1454	665	592	545	882	3.66	107	6189	29	35	10	46	CHW-TOR-STL-MIL
11	LaTroy Hawkins	103	1995	2011	22-38	781	98	2	0	264	60	84	.417	87	1223.0	1355	663	616	407	815	4.53	144	5307	29	20	7	63	MIN-CHC-BAL-COL-TOT-HOU-MIL
12	Jack Wilson	103	1934	1942	22-30	281	121	50	5	98	68	72	.486	20	1131.2	1233	686	577	601	590	4.59	73	5158		18	3	37	PHA-BOS-TOT
13	Steve Avery	100	1990	2003	20-33	297	261	14	6	11	96	83	.536	0	1554.2	1529	800	723	569	980	4.19	148	6609	27	26	9	47	ATL-BOS-CIN-DET

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/20/2011.

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Of course, six of the thirteen are still pitching. So, in theory, they could drop off this list at some point.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 20th, 2011 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Game Finders, Season Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “Career ERA+ 100 Or Better After 7+ ER In Debut”

Genis Says:
May 20th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
The first thing that stands out to me is Jim Johnson...and his ONE career start. Was his first career appearance a start or did he allow 7 runs in relief in his debut?
Scott Says:
May 20th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
A quick look at Johnson's career you see he came up made a start then came back as a full time reliever in 2008.

You know why I love the br blog though, every now and then I forget about an awesome player like Miller TIme.
Richard Chester Says:
May 20th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
The Fred Hutchinson debut was the game that ended Gehrig's streak. He retired two men and ended up with an ERA of 108.00.
Jamie Wilking Says:
May 20th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Interesting - 3 players (Zambrano, Garza, and Davis) are currently in the Cubs rotation...
Doug Says:
May 21st, 2011 at 2:03 am
Count me surprised (I think).

I wouldn't have thought the result of a single game could be so predictive of a career. Rather, I would have guessed there'd be a lot more names on the list.

Perhaps, though, since this basically happens just once a year, it's too small a sample size to draw much meaning from. That could be because guys making their first start tend to be on a short leash and will get the hook sooner than a veteran in a similar circumstance.

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