Quick, name the most dominant pitcher on the Oregon State baseball team. I’ll give you a hint, it’s definitely not Brian Budrow and it’s not even Dallas Buck. It’s easy, I promise.
I’ll give you another hint, mathematically. What do you get when you take Dallas Buck’s statistics, add 25 more batters faced and 25 strikeouts? Then subtract 2/3 of an inning, four earned runs, 19 walks, 15 hit-by-pitches, and .36 off his ERA and what do you get?
Jonah Nickerson.
Nickerson has found himself a comfortable place. Not only is he a better pitcher than Dallas Buck, but he has been able to keep a low profile in Corvallis. He goes ignored on campus and in the local media. Meanwhile, the man is gaining steam down the stretch, quietly regulating like Warren G with laryngitis.
Nickerson is third in the conference in ERA for a pitcher with more than 10 starts and fifth in strikeouts, while Buck is fifth in ERA and 10th in strikeouts. Even though Buck has allowed almost 24 fewer hits than Nickerson, Buck has also plucked, beaned and mowed down 15 more batters than Nickerson and walked 19 more. Once again, do the math; I promise Nickerson comes out on top.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Dallas. He is a great pitcher and I especially love his fastball and great fielding ability. And I can’t get enough of his infatuation with plucking batters this season. Shout out to Dallas, you have managed to mow over 19 batters this season. I hope you took fighting tips from Nolan Ryan because I can’t wait to see you Robin Ventura some batter in the post season.
Google that reference if you have to.
And I’m still astounded by his 14-game winning streak. But, I believe he was the benefactor of impressive offense earlier this season and not as dominating as he was last year. I know I might be ostracized by my friends, family, and co-workers but, Dallas Buck might be the most overrated pitcher in the Pac-10.
Buck is even nominated for another Roger Clemens Award, which is given to the best pitcher in the country. But statistics don’t lie, and neither do I, and he is not the best pitcher in the country.
He isn’t the best pitcher in the Pac-10 or even on the team. Buck has made it apparent he is a great force on the mound and a reliable pitcher, but he’s not the pitcher the Beavers should be leaning on going into the post season. Nickerson is that pitcher.
A lot of people say that because Nickerson is 9-3, he isn’t as dominating as the once undefeated Buck. Pay attention, Beaver fans: all three losses were prior to spring break and two were in preseason games.
Nickerson is 7-0 in the last two months. In those three losses he has given up 12 runs while the Beavers’ offense has been offensive. When Nickerson is on the mound, the Beavers have left a combined 46 runners on base, 16 of those in scoring position. If they were able to score half of those runners, Nickerson would be undefeated.
The first regular-season game he lost, Nickerson pitched six innings, only giving up three earned runs with three strikeouts, while the offense had six hits and one run. Roger Clemens can’t even win a game with that kind of run support.
The bottom line is that Jonah Nickerson is playing great baseball. He is the best pitcher because he has more control on the ball and has the ability to get himself out of a jam and settle into a game. This is evident during his last outing when he had to work out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth innings.
Dallas Buck might be the big man on campus, but he is not the best man on campus. That is saved for Jonah Nickerson.
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