Corey Kluber authored one of the greatest September’s ever pitched

Cleveland Indians Corey Kluber pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on September 17, 2017. This was Kluber’ fourth victory of his historic month of September. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI.

Jack Butler

September begins today and four years ago Cleveland Indians right-handed starter Corey Kluber embarked on one of the most dominate months of pitching baseball had ever seen. Coming into the month, Kluber was 13-4 in 23 starts compiling 160.2 innings with an outstanding 2.63 ERA tossing 4 complete games and 2 shutouts while also striking out 215 batters. Kluber’s historic month began with his 14th victory after tossing 8 strong innings of one run ball, striking out 7 and walking none against the Detroit Tigers on September 2nd. 5 days later, Indians Manager Terry Francona gave the ball to his ace Kluber and watched him display his stoicism as the 31-year-old hurler pitched 7 frames with 13 strikeouts, allowing only 2 runs, and 1 of the 3 walks he issued the entire month. Klubot picked up his 15th win of the season during the Indians blowout 11-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

On September 12, Kluber made his first start at Progressive Field in 20 days where he continued his dominate run by tossing a 5 hit complete game shutout in the Indians 2-0 victory over the Tigers. It was also his first win at home since August 8 versus the Colorado Rockies. This tied the Tribe with the 2002 Oakland Athletics for the longest win streak in American League history at 20 games. An afternoon later, the Indians defeated the Tigers 5-3 which completed the three-game swept and then held the longest win streak at 21 games.

Cleveland was beginning a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals on September 14 and the Indians consecutive win streak was in jeopardy. The Tribe were down to their last out when Francisco Lindor hit a game tying double off the 19-foot wall in left. José Ramírez led off the 10th with a hustle double and then Jay Bruce lined a walk-off double into the right field corner for win number 22. The streak ended the next evening as they narrowly lost to the Royals 4-3.

Kluber was back on the hill less than 48 hours later on September 17, where he tried to duplicate his shutout in his last start. He tossed 7 brilliant scoreless frames, allowing only 3 hits, no walks, and 8 punchouts. One week later, Kluber had one more gem in him that month at Safeco Field facing the Seattle Mariners. He had his second consecutive outing pitching 7 innings while he gave up 6 hits, 2 runs with none earned, walking 2, and striking out 10. Klubot picked up his 18th and final victory of the season and 10th in his last 11 starts as the Indians defeated the Mariners 4-2.

Klubot had one more tune up before the postseason on September 30 in the second to last game of the season against the White Sox where he tossed only 5 innings, gave up six hits, allowed 1 earned run, walked none, and had just 3 strikeouts on 81 pitches. Those innings pitched, strikeouts, and pitches thrown were the fewest of any start he made in the month of September.

In September 2017, Kluber went 5-0 in 6 starts posting a microscopic 0.84 ERA and striking out 50 in 43.0 innings. He only allowed 4 earned runs and walked 3 batters that entire month. Talk about dominance on the mound, but the craziest stat by Kluber was his insane 16.67 Strikeout/Walk ratio.

Kluber’s fantastic month of September earned him the AL Pitcher of the Month honors for the third time in 2017. He also received the award in June and August that year.

The Indians ace Corey Kluber and slugging third baseman José Ramírez led them to a 102-60 record for the best mark in the American League giving Cleveland home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. Since the Indians were the number 1 seed they waited until the New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-4 in the Wild Card Game to know their opponent.

After shutting out the Yankees 4-0 in Game 1, they looked for a commanding 2-0 series lead with Kluber on the mound matched up against former Indians All-Star and 2007 Cy Young Award Winner CC Sabathia. Kluber’s magical September did not carry into October as he only went 2.2 innings allowing 6 runs, all of them earned, with 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and gave up 2 home runs. The Yankees controlled an 8-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Chad Green hit pinch hitter Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch that after watching replays looked like it hit the nob of his bat rather than his body. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi decided not to review it and then Lindor hit a grand slam off the right field foul pole making it just a one run game.

Jay Bruce tied the contest in the eighth with a leadoff homer to left centerfield making it an 8-8 ball game. Both bullpens put up zeros for the next four innings until Yan Gomes lined a walk off single down the third base line in 13th. The late Indians rally saved Corey Kluber from receiving the loss.

Cleveland’s bats went silent in the loud Bronx crowd at Yankee Stadium for games 3 and 4 as Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino dominated and each earned the win in those respective games. So, it was all up to a winner take all Game 5 at Progressive Field. It was a rematch of Game 2 between Kluber and Sabathia. A 36-year-old Sabathia once again out pitched Kluber. Kluber only pitched 3.2 frames, allowing 3 runs, all of them earned, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and gave up 2 home runs.

Two costly Indians errors in the ninth inning with one by Austin Jackson and the other by Jay Bruce resulted in 2 crucial insurance runs for the Yankees. Those 2 tallies made the save opportunity for Aroldis Chapman much easier as instead of it being a one run game and a single swing could tie the elimination game, now Cleveland needed to string multiple hits off him. Chapman did not let a leadoff walk to Ramírez result in a collapse like the year prior on November 2 when Rajai Davis hit the game tying homer in the 8th of Game 7 of the World Series. Following Chapman’s strikeout of Jackson looking, you could hear a pin drop at Progressive Field because that was how quiet and shocked the Cleveland faithful were (including me in attendance).

After the Houston Astros created their way to a World Series Championship by stealing signs and banging on trash cans, Corey Kluber was named the 2017 AL Cy Young Award Winner for the second time in his career. Kluber became the 19th pitcher to win the award at least twice and Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom are the most recent to do so after winning the award in their respective leagues in 2019. Despite Kluber running out of gas in the postseason nobody can take away the dominance he displayed that September.

There have been 9 other September runs that compare to the likes of Kluber since 1963. Sandy Koufax 1963, Tom Seaver 1969, Greg Maddux 1995, Randy Johnson 1998, Pedro Martínez 1999, Johan Santana 2004, Clayton Kershaw 2014, Justin Verlander 2017, and Jacob deGrom 2019. These 9 other pitching performances in September were dominate in their own right and in different ways as some of the pitchers listed tossed complete game after complete game while others finessed their way to an undefeated final month.

In September 1963, Koufax went 5-0 in 7 starts in 54.2 innings, authored 3 complete games with 1 being a shutout to post a 1.65 ERA, and had 60 strikeouts and only 5 walks. This was just a tune up for his two complete games Koufax tossed in the 1963 World Series against the Yankees leading him being named MVP of the series. Six years later, Seaver had an incredible month of September that eventually led to a World Championship over the heavily favored 109-win Baltimore Orioles.

Seaver won all 6 of his starts in September by pitching 6 complete games with 2 of them being shutouts while having a 0.83 ERA, 33 punchouts, and 12 walks. Seaver’s dominance began at the end of August when he tossed 2 complete games and 1 shutout. So Seaver tossed eight consecutive complete games which is 72.0 innings in a month. It’s absurd how his arm didn’t fall off. Tom Terrific’s wonderful pitching continued in October as he pitched a 10-inning complete game gem over the Orioles which led to J.C. Martin’s pinch-hit walk-off bunt that Pete Richert threw off the back of Martin allowing Rod Gasper to score the winning run.

A little less than three decades later, Greg Maddux, another legendary pitcher, had a historic month of September in 1995. The Professors control was on full display that month as in 5 starts, he went 5-0 with a minuscule 0.29 ERA in 31.0 innings while tossing one complete game shutout. Maddux had 29 strikeouts and walked only 3 batters. Just like Koufax and Seaver, the run resulted in a successful October and a World Series Championship.

Randy Johnson was traded to the Houston Auston on July 31, 1998, to improve their chances of winning the NL Pennant. Johnson shinned in 5 starts in September winning them all where he tossed 38.1 innings and a complete game shutout while posting a 1.41 ERA and had 55 strikeouts. The Big Unit became the first pitcher on the list to not win a Cy Young as a result of their marvelous September.

Just a year later, Pedro Martínez began arguably the greatest two seasons ever pitched from 1999-2000 where he won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards and led in almost every pitching statistic during the stretch. In 1999, Martínez started 5 games that September/October going 4-0 with a microscopic 0.86 ERA in 42.0 innings with 71 strikeouts and like the other four pitchers on this list tossed at least one complete game and a shutout. He pitched 2 complete games which included 1 shutout.

The next pitcher went from being a struggling starter to one of baseball’s best hurlers of the decade which actually took off in August 2004, but September was when Johan Santana shinned the brightest. In September, Santana made 6 starts winning 5 decisions with an insane 0.45 ERA and had 52 strikeouts in 40.0 innings. For four weeks Santana allowed only 2 earned runs and 7 walks. Santana even pitched two great games in the ALDS against the Yankees, including a win in Game 1 at Old Yankee Stadium, but the Twins bullpen collapsed, and the Bronx Bombers prevailed in 4 games.

Almost a decade later to the day, Clayton Kershaw began his dominate month on September 2, 2014, where he went 8 strong frames allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and struckout 8 in a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. Kershaw tossed three more 8 inning performances and one 5-inning outing that month. For September, Kershaw won all 5 starts pitching 37.0 innings with a 1.95 ERA and had 45 strikeouts. This run by Kershaw not only made him the runaway NL Cy Young Award Winner but also took home the NL MVP Award as he became the first pitcher to win MVP since 2011 when Justin Verlander did it who we’ll discuss next.

Similar to a struggling Randy Johnson being dealt to Astros in 1998 and dominated in September so did Justin Verlander when the Detroit Tigers traded him to Houston on August 31, 2017. In September, Verlander looked like a completely different pitcher in Houston as he went 5-0 in 5 starts with a 1.06 ERA in 34.0 innings and had 43 strikeouts. Verlander was a key component to the Astros winning the World Series over the Dodgers. He tossed a complete game in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Yankees and earned the win in Game 6 to even the series at 3 apiece. The Astros won the winner take all Game 7 4-0 and Verlander was named the ALCS MVP. Detroit moving Verlander changed the direction of the 34-year-old pitcher’s career as he stayed with the Astros. The following season he finished 2nd in AL Cy Young Voting, but won the award for a second time in 2019.

Jacob deGerom is the final pitcher on this list of hurlers who had a dominate September. In September 2019, deGrom started 5 games going 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA while having 41 strikeouts in 35.0 innings. deGrom pitched 7 frames each start and had 3 consecutive starts without allowing an earned run. The outstanding month of pitching lowered deGrom’s ERA from 2.76 on September 3 to 2.43 on September 25. More importantly, he improved his record to 11-8. These two factors led to deGrom earning his second NL Cy Young Award.

Each of these ten pitchers has won at least 2 Cy Young Awards, 1 ERA Title, and 1 postseason game. Randy Johnson has been awarded the most Cy Young Awards with 5, Sandy Koufax, Pedro Martínez, and Clayton Kershaw have each claimed the ERA Title 5 times, and Justin Verlander has been victorious the most in the postseason by winning 14 games.

Following examining these ten September pitching performances, five statistics were graphed consisting of lowest earned run average (ERA), most strikeouts, least amount of earned runs given up, lowest walks & hits per innings pitched (WHIP), and best strikeouts/walks ratio (SO/W). Greg Maddux had the best ERA at 0.29 and only allowed 1 earned run while he ranked last with 29 strikeouts, but he was a finesse pitcher. Pedro Martínez topped everyone with 71 strikeouts and a 0.619 WHIP. The best SO/W ratio belonged to Corey Kluber who complied a 16.67 SO/W ratio in September.

In 1995, Greg Maddux had the lowest ERA in September at 0.29 while in 2014, Clayton Kershaw had the highest at 1.95. Both pitchers were named the NL Cy Young following the season. Graph by Jack Butler.

Nobody had more strikeouts in a single September than Pedro Martínez who fanned 71 batters in 1999 and Maddux only had 29 strikeouts in 1995. Graph by Jack Butler.

Greg Maddux only allowed 1 earned run in 31.0 innings pitched in September 1995 while Tom Seaver gave up 10 during his complete game dominance to end the 1969 season. Graph by Jack Butler.

In September 2017, Corey Kluber walked just 3 and had 50 strikeouts in 43.0 innings which calculates to a 16.67 SO/W ratio. Kluber was on another level of dominance that month. Graph by Jack Butler.

Pedro Martínez who led in strikeouts also had the lowest WHIP in September at 0.619 while Randy Johnson had the highest WHIP of 1.070. Graph by Jack Butler.

Sources

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