Editor's note: The original version of this story ran ANNIVERSARY IRON ONS on June 27, 2018. As part of ESPN's Strikeout Saturday on March 28,
2020, David Schoenfield updated FLAG
IRON ONS his evaluations, particularly of who's most likely to beat each
team's best-ever pitching efficiency. On May 4, 2018 Gerrit Cole pitched one of
the best games you will ever see. He fired a 16-strikeout shutout against the
Diamondbacks, allowing just one hit and one walk. As a remarkable side note,
Cole didn't strike out any batters in the first or ninth innings, so 16 of the
21 outs from the second through the eighth were strikeouts. His final two
pitches were 99 mph. Cole called it "probably my best" start of his career. Umm,
no "probably" needed there. I wondered: Was this the best start in Astros
history? Cole's Game Score was 100, a rare achievement. There have been just 15
such online games in outings of nine innings or fewer since 1908, therefore
while Cole's game didn't receive the notoriety of a no-hitter or perfect video
game, it was more impressive in many ways, less reliant on the fortune of where
a ball was strike and more dependent on his pure dominance. With Cole's game in
mind, I thought it will be ALL
STAR GAME IRON ONS-SIMILAR PRODUCTS FEATURED fun to research the best starts
for every franchise. This wasn't as simple as just finding the best Game BATMAN
IRON ONS Score for each and every team. With the way Game Rating can be
calculated, the more innings you pitch, the higher your Game Score can go, so
most franchise records are from video games from decades ago, when pitchers
would pitch deep into extra innings. You also have to consider the opponent and
the era -- strikeouts are more plentiful today, although complete games are
scarce. Two final notes before I uncover my selections: • I considered only
regular-season starts. Postseason is certainly another beast altogether given
the importance of every game (though my editor says to be prepared to go there
come October). There is one franchise, however, for which the highest
nine-inning Game Rating in a postseason video game matches the very best in the
regular season. • This list goes back to just 1908, which is as far back as the
invaluable Baseball-Reference Play Index goes. So whenever I might say
"history," I really mean since 1908.