Dewan: Is Madison Bumgarner the world’s No. 1 starting pitcher?
From SABR member John Dewan at ACTA Sports on November 14, 2014:
Bill James has a ranking system called the World’s #1 Starting Pitcher. Bill introduced the idea in an article on Bill James Online in September of 2011, and it has been fully explained and updated through the end of the regular season in the just-released 2015 Bill James Handbook. Bill James Online will have daily rankings of the World’s #1 Starting Pitcher starting next season.
The system is straightforward. When a starter makes his major league debut, he begins with 300 points. From there, his rating will go up when he pitches well (based on Game Score). His rating goes down when he pitches poorly or doesn’t pitch at all (including the offseason). Complete details of the system are available both in The Handbook and on Bill James Online.
The Handbook showed Clayton Kershaw as the World’s #1 Starting Pitcher as of the end of the regular season. Here is the rest of that top 10.
Read the full article here: http://www.statoftheweek.com
Originally published: November 14, 2014. Last Updated: November 14, 2014.