(5) Craig Kimbrel vs. (4) David Justice
Greetings, folks, and welcome to one of our most exciting Round 1 mathcups. Here we pit against one another two players diverse in era and position, both beloved by fans. Some statlines age well. Craig Kimbrel's 2012 season amazes me each time I look back at it. It's not quite early aughts Bonds or late nineties Pedro, but it's closer to those statistical standard-bearing season than you might imagine. But was he here long enough? Are relief pitchers all that important? You tell me.
Craig Kimbrel - 11.6 WAR (8 WAR/200 IP)
Synopsis
- 186 Saves, 1.43 ERA
- 38 ERA-, 41 FIP-
- Winner of the 2011 Rookie of the Year Award
- 4x All-Star (2011-14)
- Finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting each year from 2011-2014
- Led the league in Saves each year from 2011-2014
- Struck out 50.2% of the batters he faced in 2012, the second highest percentage ever for a pitcher with at least 50 IP.
- For his 2012 season, Kimbrel still holds single-season records for FIP, xFIP, and SIERA among pitchers with at least 50 IP (these last two statistics have only been calculable since the release of batted-ball data in 2002, but FIP dates back to primordial eternity).
Memorable Moments
- Kimbrel's 41st Save of 2011 came on August 31 in a game against the Washington Nationals. With this Save, Kimbrel broke the MLB rookie Saves record.
- Kimbrel was the first unanimous Rookie of the Year since Albert Pujols in 2001. Kimbrel's runner-up was Freddie Freeman.
- On June 6, 2014, Kimbrel passed John Smoltz with his 155st Save to become the Braves' Saves king.
David Justice - 25 WAR (4.5 WAR/600 PA's)
Synopsis
- .275/.399/.499 batting line
- 133 wRC+
- Winner of 1990 Rookie of the Year Award
- 2x All-Star (1993-4)
- Received MVP votes in 1990, 1991, and 1993, with his highest finish being third place in '93
- Finished second in the NL in both Home Runs (40) and RBI (120) in a career year in 1993.
Memorable Moments
- Justice's solo Home Run in Game Six of the 1995 World Series was the only runs scored in the Braves 1-0, series-clinching win.