Rodney Woodward sends in a perfect card for Monster Card Monday.
Literally.
It’s Devin Williams’ card from 2020. For the Brewers, Williams allowed one run in 27 innings. He walked nine and struck out 53 batters.
Interestingly, that one run in the second game of the shortened season led to a loss against the Pirates. After that, it was smooth sailing for Devin whose ERA dipped to 0.33 by the end of the year.
| Split | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Totals | 4 | 1 | .800 | 0.33 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 53 |
Rodney pointed out that APBA knighted Devin Williams with a perfect Master Game Grade of 30 (you can see it on the bottom towards the left.
Rodney says:
I’m submitting Devin Williams card solely because I can’t recall ever seeing a Master Pitching Grade of 30 before. His metrics were unbelievable (an ERA+ of 1375!!!).
If you narrow it down to starters, 1908 Ed Walsh is the only one who has the perfect MG grade of 30. There may be a few relievers but none in recent memory.
Williams’ 30 grade translates to a Basic Game grade of A&B as seen on the card above. This brings the debate of which is more effective, an A&C or an A&B?
A&C vs. A&B
There is a good argument for the A&C as the situation that the second grade will be used will present itself more often. With a runner on first, a 9 will become an out.
That said, an 8 with a runner on third is a run-scoring single against an A pitcher. Not so against the powerful A&B pitcher. The fact that a run scores on this result is a big factor too.
Above and beyond his 30/A&B* grade, Williams gets the very unusual strikeout letter combination of KY to reflect his 17.7 K/9 IP.
thanks for the suggestion, Rodney!
Hi Tom!
“If you narrow it down to starters, 1908 Ed Walsh is the only one who has the perfect MG grade of 30. There may be a few relievers but none in recent memory.” Walsh wasn’t merely a starter that year. He also led the league in saves! (with 6).
I seem to also recall 1904 Jack Chesbro also having a 30, but I might be mistaken.
Whenever I see a discussion of the A&C vs. A&B, invariably the discussion goes to the percentage of the various base situations. Now, I could be wrong on this, but I have yet to see any comment in any discussion on this subject anywhere to the fact that a typical hitter’s card will get three 8’s as opposed to two 9’s. This, along with the A&B preventing a run in the situation cited above, helps to give credence to Dick Seitz’ comment (from the pink FAQ sheet that was once included with the game) that an A&B is roughly as superior to an A&C as an A&C is to an A. Which, in my opinion, ain’t all that much…until your dice roll is shot down by that extra letter, of course…
A&B pitchers I have used over the 40 years I have been playing the game the results have been terrible. An A&C has always been more effective than an A&B. The A&B rating is a curse. A modification of A&B/A&C should be looked at so when a hit is made on one rating, you can then refer to other rating and take the more favorable result for the pitcher. Era’s are always incredibly high and it seems the A&B gets into trouble then gives up the big hit, which in reality never should happen.