No Need for Pitchers to Complain About Their Struggles Against 2018 Astros
Phil Hughes Jokingly Suggested Erasing His Horrid Numbers Against Astros
While many fans are clamoring for the Astros and the Red Sox to have their World Series Championships rescinded, pitcher Phil Hughes has expressed a more personal wish amid the recent cheating investigation in Major League Baseball. The veteran right hander, through a Twitter post in the January 14 New York Times, suggested that his career numbers against several prominent members of the Astros be stricken from the back of his baseball card.
"I'd like my career numbers against (Jose) Altuve, (George) Springer, and (Carlos) Correa erased from the record books," Hughes tweeted.
Hughes would indeed benefit from having those numbers revoked, considering during his twelve Big League seasons his earned run average versus the Astros is a whopping 11.50. It is, however, quite a small sample, for Hughes has faced Houston just four times and has a 1-2 record against them.
Nevertheless, those three hitters Hughes named did some serious damage against him, combining for a .500 Batting average. Altuve hit .667 with a homer, Correa was not far behind with a .500 BA with a homer,and Springer took Hughes for a .367 average with a home run.
That damage, however, was not done in the 18 season, which is the year of the alleged cheating. The fact is that Hughes made not one single appearance against Houston that season. By the time his Minnesota Twins made their only visit to Houston, it was September and Hughes had been traded to the San Diego Padres.
Hughes's tongue-in-cheek complaint obviously has no validity, but two other pitchers might have a legitimate claim against the 2018 Astros. Seattle right hander Mike Leake and Oakland leftie Brett Anderson both went winless in multiple starts against Houston that year, going a combined 0-5.
Leaks lost three of his four starts against Houston, suffering a 5.55 earned run average. Anderson fared even worse in his two defeats, finishing with an ERA of 19.06 in his two outings versus the Astros.
Only one of Leake's losses came at Minute Maid Park, and it was not because of Altuve nor Springer nor Correa. His primary nemesis in that game was Alex Bregman, who collected four hits and a home run off of Leake.
Anderson, too, lost just one game at Minute Maid Park, home of the controversial activity. Even in that case the trio had little contribution, going only a combined four for twelve.
Before anyone starts erasing or somehow altering the stats of pitchers who faced the 2018 Astros, consider the cases just mentioned. Leake and Anderson both suffered against Houston, but they did so at home as well as in Houston.
If anything, baseball might consider boosting the numbers of Seattle starter James Paxton. He went undefeated against the 2018 Astros, including two victories at Minute Maid Park against ace Justin Verlander.
