Both are pitching leaders. The Mets' Johan Santana established himself as an ace with the Twins and now does the same for the Flushing gang. The Dodgers' Chad Billingsley has this year come into his own and emerged as the team ace for hopefully many seasons to come. And, if you look at their stats at the All Star break, they are amazingly similar, except for age and one other very distinct category.
Age: Santana-29, Billingsley-23 Won-Loss: Santana 8-7, Billingsley 9-8 ERA: Santana-2.84, Billingsley-3.25 Strikeouts: Santana-114, Billingsley-128 Games Started: Santana-19, Billingsley-19 Innings Pitched: Santana-126.2, Billingsley-116.1 Hits Allowed: Santana-116, Billingsley-101 Runs Allowed: Santana-48, Billingsley-47 Earned Runs Allowed: Santana-40, Billingsley-42 Home Runs Allowed: Santana-14, Billingsley-8 Walks: Santana-35, Billingsley-50
Pretty equal, huh? Here's the big difference.
2008 Salary: Santana-$16,984,216, Billingsley-$415,000
If it's any consolation to Chad, his name is on my Dodger jersey. That should make up the extra $16,569,216.
Dinner last night: Chicken tenders at the Arclight.
6 comments:
Didn't you leave a stat out - Johan Santana - ML Debut 2000, Chad Billingsley - ML Debut 2006. That might have something to do with the salary discrepency.
Of course, ML service is a factor. And, if he stays healthy, Chad will get a large bundle of dough when he is 29.
So, let's go back and look at Santana when he was 23. And equally a bargain.
Innings pitched: 108
Won-Loss: 8-6
ERA: 2.99
Strikeouts: 137
The bottom line is that good pitching is available at any cost.
Santana in 2002 was paid $212,000.
Just remember...TNSTAAPP.
There's No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect.
I hope Chad works out for you guys, but I'll take an established veteran star like Santana anytime. At least when I'm not writing out the checks. Bad enough I have to pay two college tuitions in a few weeks.
Actually, Billingsley is in his third year here, so I would not call him a prospect. I would say he is finally putting it all together, which does not happen with a lot of pitching prospects. And I'm not saying he is better than Santana. I just saw the stats being equal right now and found the dollar comparison very amusing.
Aaaarrrrgghhh!
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