Last night the Yankees were shut down, and nearly no hit, by former Mets’ prospect Philip Humber. Because it was the first time the Bronx Bombers faced the 28-year old right hander, the unexpected domination inspired the usual lament about the Yankees being unable to handle pitchers whom they’ve never seen before.
Last August, after Bryan Bullington and Max Scherzer shutdown the Yankees on consecutive days, I did some investigating into this widely perceived notion and discovered that it was, in fact, a myth. Judging by the reaction to Humber’s gem, however, it seems as if word hasn’t yet gotten around. So, provided below is updated data to help quell the latest round of misinformation.
Record of Pitchers Facing the Yankees for the First Time*
|
Span
|
W | L | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | Avg GSc |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 78 |
| 2010 | 7 | 4 | 62 /23 | 44 | 23 | 23 | 17 | 41 | 4 | 3.30 | 56.7 |
| 2008-2010 | 31 | 39 | 377 1/3 | 377 | 201 | 188 | 151 | 235 | 44 | 4.48 | 48.3 |
| 2000-2010 | 94 | 141 | 1251 2/3 | 1392 | 800 | 747 | 563 | 833 | 194 | 5.37 | 44.9 |
*Based on first appearance against the Yankees within the first 60 starts of a pitcher’s career. Pitchers facing the Yankees for the first time after 60 career starts were not included in this analysis.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Best and Worst Games By Pitchers Facing the Yankees for the First Time
| Pitcher | Date | Team | GSc |
| Billy Traber | 7/8/2003 | CLE | 90 |
| Jon Lester | 7/3/2008 | BOS | 83 |
| Bryan Bullington | 8/15/2010 | KCR | 82 |
| 4/25/2011 | CHW | 78 | |
| Blake Stein | 8/2/2000 | KCR | 73 |
| Pitcher | Date | Team | GSc |
| Mark Mulder | 8/10/2000 | OAK | -4 |
| Doug Davis | 8/15/2000 | TEX | 9 |
| Nick Bierbrodt | 8/8/2001 | TBD | 9 |
| Mark Hendrickson | 4/2/2003 | TOR | 9 |
| Alay Soler | 7/2/2006 | NYM | 9 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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