Cliff Lee’s Game 1 was Good, But Bob Gibson’s was Better
TOWER GROVE — In one of the most dominant World Series pitching performances of our era, Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cliff Lee tied-up one of the finest lineups in the game last night, striking out 10 New York Yankees and authoring a complete-game in Game 1 at (New) Yankee Stadium. It was, in short, arguably the best World Series start by a NL pitcher since Bob Gibson.
But is it better than Hoot’s?
Lee needed 122 pitches to finish nine innings. He allowed one run on six hits, and that run came in the ninth inning of last night’s game and it was unearned. He did not walk a Yankee. As Hall of Fame writer Rick Hummel points out in this morning’s Post-Dispatch, Lee also muzzled the middle of the Yankees’ lineup. Alex Rodriguez, the hottest hitter this side of Ryan Howard in October, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and combined with No. 3 hitter Mark Teixeira the duo went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts against Lee. The lefty’s complete game ran his streak to 18 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run this postseason.
On Oct. 2, 1968, St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame righthander Gibson shut out the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson also went the full nine, allowed five hits and no runs, did walk a batter, but also set a World Series record with 17 strikeouts in the game. In ‘68, the year defined by pitching in the major leagues, the Tigers led the AL with a .385 slugging percentage. They had three hitters with at least 25 home runs, and that didn’t include Hall of Famer Al Kaline, who missed part of the season with injury. The Tigers also had three hitters with at least 80 RBIs. The leader, with 90 RBIs, was Jim Northrup, who was not one of the three hitters with at least 25 homers. Those five players against Gibson in Game 1:
No. 3 … Al Kaline … 1-for-4, 3 K
No. 4 … Norm Cash … 0-for-4, 3 K
No. 5 … Willie Horton … 0-for-4, 2 K
No. 6 … Jim Northrup … 0-for-3, 2 K
No. 7 … Bill Freehan … 0-for-2, 2 K
Combined … 1-for-17, 12 Ks
On his last pitch of the game, Gibson got Horton looking at a called strike 3. That’s a remarkable feat to eclipse, and also consider that Gibson out-dueled 31-game winner Denny McLain in that Game 1 of a World Series the Cardinals would eventually lose. But, as mentioned, that was a season dominated by pitchers, so much so that the rules changed after the year to give the hitters a better chance. Gibson had his 1.12 ERA in ‘68. Consider that when weighing Lee’s performance.
Cardinals' Hall of Famer Bob Gibson delivers a pitch in 1968.
This morning, Baseball-Reference.com, ran the numbers to see how Lee’s performances in the playoffs this fall rank by game score. We’ve discussed “game score” before. It basically takes a pitchers line and distills it into one number that helps qualify how one pitcher’s game compares against another, through time. Points are awarded for strikeouts and late innings and subtracted for runs and walks.
Lee’s game score from last night was 83, not even his best of this postseason.
Gibson’s game score from 1968 was 93.
That ranks as one of the best ever, edged only slightly by Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, here are the best game scores in the World Series since 1903.:
Babe Ruth, BOS … 1916 … 14 ip, 6 h, 1 er, 3w, 4k … 97 GS
Don Larsen, NYY … 1956 … 9 ip, perfect game, 7k … 94 GS
Ed Walsh, CHW … 1906 … 9 ip, 2 h, 0 er, 1 w, 12k … 94 GS
Bob Gibson, STL … 1968 … 9 ip, 5 h, 0 er, 1 w, 17k … 93 GS
Randy Johnson, AZ … 2001 … 9 ip, 3 h, 1 er, 2 w, 15k … 91 GS
Monte Pearson, NYY … 1939 … 9 ip, 2 h, 0 er, 1 w, 8K … 90 GS
George Earnshaw, PHA … 1931 … 9 ip, 2 h, 0 er, 1 w, 8k … 90 GS
That last game, pitched by Philadelphia Athletics starter Earnshaw, was against the Cardinals in the World Series. According to the game score rankings, Lee’s Game 1 start last night does not rank in the top 10. It doesn’t rank in the top 20. But then, neither does Jack Morris’ 10-inning thrill ride against the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, and it would be hard to not include that as one of the finest games ever pitched. Morris’ Minnesota Twins won, 1-0, scoring a run in the bottom of the 10th to make Morris the winner. Game scores offer a guide to find the early-1900 games, sure, but watching Morris and watching Lee may be the better gauge.
That game, in which Morris scattered seven hits and walked two, scored an 84. By eye, it was probably a 98. Context is everything. Gibson had two World Series starts score better than Lee’s and better than Morris’ — the 17K game and his 10-inning, 13K game against the Yankees in 1964.
Like Lee, that start by Gibson came in the Bronx, at (Old) Yankee Stadium. In the game, Gibson held the two bats in the middle of the Yankees’ order to an 0-for-8, just like Lee. You may have heard of the two batters: No. 3 hitter Roger Maris and cleanup hitter Mickey Mantle. One is in the Hall of Fame. The other should be. And maybe that’s where Lee’s Game 1 performance may best be judged. Not by what he did, but who he did it against.
Lee went against the best lineup money can buy at a ballpark made for home runs in an era dominated by home runs and still pitched one of the finest games in World Series history.
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
I think you mean 80 RBIs, not 80 home runs (on the Tigers in ‘68).
Here’s the biggest difference between the two: Gibby never would have showboated like Lee did last night.
Gibson’s performance with those 17 K’s is still the most dominating.
Lee’s dominating performance was predicted in the DYNASTY League Baseball Online version game for USA TODAY:
The score and pitching lines were almost exact matches to the real game.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/fantasywindup/post/2009/10/game-1-phils-lee-has-the-upper-hand/1
Well done, Mike.
Too bad “game score” doesn’t recognize Jack Morris’ 10-inning, 1-0 shutout of Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the ‘91 Series (Braves starter: J. Smoltz) or Tom Glavine’s eight-inning, one-hit performance in ‘95 clincher over Cleveland (another 1-0 game). It seems in the quest by some to create instant history there’s a willingness to bow to arbitrary formulas; in this case, one heavily biased toward strikeouts. Give me a clinching game with no room for error. Give me a 10-inning shutout, something we may never witness again. Give me a one-hit outing against that day’s most dominant lineup. Save the “game score” evaluating for table games and academic exercises. Anyone who witnessed Morris’ feat 18 years ago Tuesday realizes that is the standard in the game’s divisional era.
Who needs game scores to validate greatness?
Watch the game. I love statistics, but at times it gets silly. I don’t need to seek out sabermetricians to tell me what I saw.
Jack Morris pitching 10 shutout innings in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series — with no margin for error on every single stinking pitch — was superior to what Lee did last night. Lee was phenomenal. I don’t know or care what his game score was. But I watched Morris with my own eyes that night, living and dying on each pitch, and there’s really not much of a comparison.
-B
Going with the title of the article, yes Lee last night was a job well done for game #1. Gibsons 17k’s and setting a record is nothing short of amazing. But the top 2 all time is Morris and Larsen, Morris because of the game 7/ 1-0 score/ and 10 innings, Larsen because it is darn hard to argue with perfection and in a world series to boot. To put a number on a performance where players are scratching and clawing for every ounce of abilities to win the championship of their choosen profession almost seems shameful. Very good discussion topic DG.
Morris and Lee each pitched the kind of game that it’s almost an honor just to watch — but Gibson’s was transcendent.
How was Lee showboating last night? The underhand grab? Anyone who thinks that was a showboating move needs to loosen up a bit. And if the behind the back play is showboating, what else was he supposed to do there? Do you think he was actually trying to do that to show off or could it have just been a reaction? Good lord, if there’s anyone who shouldn’t be accused of showboating, it’s Cliff Lee.
Was it only me or did anyone else notice something on Lee’s baseball cap? I don’t understand why nobody questioned it, especially the announcers when it was so obvious. In 2006, i believe it was FOX that made a huge deal about Kenny Rodgers’ pitching hand…. so what’s the difference?