Aroldis Chapman, Reds Bullpen Aiming for History

Aroldis Chapman is known for two things - record-breaking heat and record-breaking strikeouts.  The Reds' 2012 bullpen, with a lot of help from Chapman, is on track to post some eye-popping numbers.

1) Chapman currently sits at 16.74 strikeouts per 9 innings.  That would be the highest rate in MLB history for any pitcher appearing in at least 25 games.

Only one other pitcher - Kenley Jansen for the Dodgers in 2011 - has ever topped 16 per 9.  Incidentally, the Braves' Craig Kimbrel is on track for a ridiculous number this year as well.  He has struck out 15.7 per 9 so far.

The Reds' Rob Dibble (in 1992) is one of only 13 previous pitchers ever to strike out more than 14 per 9 innings for a season.

2) The bullpen as a whole has struck out 10.18 batters per 9 innings.  That would be the highest rate in MLB history by any bullpen.

Only the 2010 Braves bullpen (led by Billy Wagner) ever topped 10 strikeouts per 9 innings.  They had a mark of 10.06.  The next-highest totals were posted by the 2011 White Sox and 2001 Cubs - both 9.8 per 9.

Chapman isn't the only one racking up Ks.  The other two guys in the top 3 for innings pitched in the Reds 'pen also have great strikeout rates - Sean Marshall 10.7 and Jose Arredondo 9.8.

3) The bullpen as a whole has an ERA of 2.64.  That is the best in MLB this season (by a fair margin) and it would be the best mark by any team's bullpen since the 2003 Dodgers (led by Eric Gagne's Cy Young-winning effort) posted a 2.46 ERA.

The 1942 St. Louis Cardinals had the lowest bullpen ERA ever (1.75) but the aforementioned '03 Dodgers bullpen had the best mark in comparison to the average bullpen ERA for that specific year (a remarkable 1.7 runs lower than the 2003 average).

Top ten seasons of Cincinnati Reds starting pitchers

Starting pitching is even more difficult to compare across eras. While stats like complete games may be valuable to a comparison of modern pitchers, obviously pitchers in the 1900s and 1910s will dominate the rankings. An extra problem is that the Cy Young award hasn't been around as long as the MVP award (only since 1956). I did what I could to even the playing field, giving extra weight to WAR and making some subjective judgments of what certain pitchers might have accomplished in today's game.

1) Bucky Walters, 1939. No Cincinnati Red has ever won a Cy Young Award, but Walters is the only one with an NL MVP. He led the league in wins (most ever by a Red pitcher), complete games and ERA+. That season he also accumulated 7.7 WAR.

2) Dolf Luque, 1923. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt...neither the MVP nor the Cy existed yet, but I'm sure he would've won one or both this season. After all, he led the league in wins, shutouts and ERA. He also posted 9.9 WAR, easily the highest ever by a Reds pitcher.

3) Jose Rijo, 1993. The second-highest pitching WAR ever by a Red - 8.6. He finished 5th in Cy voting and got some MVP votes. Led the league in strikeouts.

4) Mario Soto, 1983. Finished second in Cy voting. This season ranks him second among all Red starting pitchers in average game score, third in quality start percentage, and fourth in strikeouts.

5) Tom Seaver, 1977. Most of his best seasons were with the Mets, making him very similar to Ken Griffey, Jr., but his first (incomplete) season with the Reds was superb. He finished third in Cy voting after compiling 5.4 WAR in Cincinnati and 2.2 in New York. He led the league in WHIP and his 1977 season ranks first among all Reds pitchers in average game score.

6) Jim Maloney, 1965. 8.0 WAR. This season ranks third among Red pitchers in strikeouts and average game score.

7) Ewell Blackwell, 1947. 8.3 WAR.

8) Mario Soto, 1982. 7.0 WAR, most strikeouts ever by a Red pitcher.

9) Bob Purkey, 1962. 7.2 WAR, led the league in win percentage.

10) Noodles Hahn, 1902. He had some great seasons at the turn of the century for the Reds, and this one rated the best in terms of WAR (7.7).

Others worth mentioning:
Gary Nolan, 1967 and 1972
Jim Maloney, 1966
Bucky Walters, 1940
Noodles Hahn, 1901, 1903 and 1904
Fred Toney, 1915
Danny Jackson, 1988
Eppa Rixey, 1923 and 1925
Elmer Riddle, 1941