Careers cut short: Brandon Webb

Brandon Webb was one of the best pitchers of the 2000s with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was destined for the Hall of Fame until a shoulder injury ended his career in 2009. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images.

Jack Butler

In 2000, a year before shocking the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Brandon Webb in the 8th round of the 2000 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Kentucky. Webb quickly moved his way up the organization’s minor league system and debuted for Arizona on April 22, 2003, vs. the Montreal Expos going 1.0 inning, allowing 0 hits, 1 walk and 0 earned runs with 1 strikeout. The young right-hander provided stability for a team who missed veteran starters Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling due to injury for parts of the season. Webb started 29 games going 10-9 with a 2.84 ERA – the lowest of his career – tossed 1 complete game which was a shutout, pitching 180.2 innings and striking out 172 batters. The Kentucky native finished 3rd in the NL Rookie of Year voting behind Scott Podsednik and Dontrelle Willis.

2004 wasn’t the season Webb wanted as he went 7-16 with a 3.59 ERA in 35 starts pitching 1 complete game, 208.0 innings, 164 strikeouts, and MLB most 119 walks. He lacked command and his team wasn’t best at scoring runs or playing defense either as he only averaged 4.08 runs per start for a Diamondbacks team that went 51-111 which was the worst record in baseball and in the franchise’s history. Webb bounced back in 2005 by reducing his BB9 from 5.1 in 2004 to 2.3 and only issued 59 walks in 229.0 innings in 33 starts going 14-12 with a 3.54 ERA, a lone complete game, and 172 strikeouts. He showed the organization that he can be the leader of the rotation after the Diamondbacks traded the legendary Johnson to the New York Yankees. In 2006, he truly defined what an ace was by winning the NL Cy Young Award two years removed from his worst statistical season of his career. Webb’s age 27 season saw him lead the NL with 16 wins, a 152 ERA+, 3.18 FIP, and 0.6 HR9 while leading the MLB with 3 shutouts and tossed 235.0 innings alongside a 3.10 ERA and 178 punch outs. He was even selected to his first of 3 consecutive NL All-Star teams.

Webb followed it up in 2007 with another stellar campaign going 18-10 in 34 starts with a 3.01 ERA leading the NL with 4 complete games and 236.1 innings pitched and MLB with 3 shutouts. He struck out a career high 194 batters and led the MLB with a 158 ERA+ and 975 batters faced. In the Cy Young vote, he finished second behind Jake Peavy along with finishing 17th in the NL MVP. Webb had another successful season in 2008, his final full year before his shoulder began to give out. He led the MLB with 22 wins and had 7 losses for a .759 winning percentage, which was the highest of his career, with a 3.30 ERA, 3 complete games, 1 shutout, tossing 226.2 innings and striking out 183 hitters. Tim Linccecum surpassed Webb in the Cy Young vote but the 29-year-old once again finished 17th in NL MVP vote.

A lengthy career came to a halt on April 6, 2009, when Webb started for the Diamondbacks against the Colorado Rockies going just 4.0 frames, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 6 earned runs with 2 strikeouts. Unfortunately, his shoulder couldn’t hold up and he never saw the majors again. We can talk about what-ifs about Brandon Webb for a Hall of Fame career, but let’s appreciate a 31.1 WAR, 87-62 record, a career 3.27 ERA, 1319.2 innings pitched, 1065 strikeouts, and a 142 ERA+ in 198 starts along with 3 All-Star appearances and NL Cy Young. Webb should be remembered as one of the greatest workhorses of the 2000s not someone whose career got cut short.