There was a time when Jake Peavy was one of baseball's premier pitchers.
With the Padres from 2003-08
- Peavy was 80-55 (.593) for mediocre Padres teams that 473-500 (.486).
- He had a 3.14 ERA and a 1.166 WHIP.
- He allowed 7.6 hits per nine innings.
- He allowed 0.9 homers per nine innings.
- He walked 2.9 per nine innings while averaging 9.0 whiffs per nine innings. He had a 3.12 walk to whiff ratio.
- He was a Cy Young Award winner once and an All-Star twice.
The White Sox were hoping to capture his Padres success
That why on:
- July 31, 2009: Peavy was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Chicago White Sox for Dexter Carter (minors), Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard and Adam Russell.
Now, the Red Sox are hoping to recapture his Padres success
- July 30, 2013: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox. The Detroit Tigers sent Avisail Garcia to the Chicago White Sox. TheDetroit Tigers sent Brayan Villarreal to the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox sent Jose Iglesias to the Detroit Tigers. The Boston Red Sox sent Cleuluis Rondon (minors),Francellis Montas (minors) and Jeffrey Wendelken (minors) to the Chicago White Sox.
But 2013 is not 2008
- Batters hit .229 against Peavy in 2008. They had a .299 OBP and they slugged .345
- Righties hit .194 against the righty, lefties .263.
- His fastball averaged 92.6, peaking at 96.4.
- Batter hit .239 against his slider.
- He threw 35 cutters and batters hit .200 against them.
- Batters have hit .244 against Peavy in 2013. They have a .285 OBP and they slugged .439.
- Righties hit .218 against the righty, lefties .265.
- His fastball averages 90.5, peaking at 94.2.
- Batters hit .357 against his slider.
- He's thrown 265 cutters and batters hit .286 against them.
With the White Sox from 2009-13
- Peavy was 36-29 (.554)
- He had a 4.00 ERA and a 1.155 WHIP.
- He allowed 8.2 hits per nine innings.
- He allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings.
- He walked 2.2 per nine innings while averaging 8.0 whiffs per nine innings. He had a 3.66 walk to whiff ratio.
- Last season, he was an All-Star. It was the only season in which he reached 20 starts in a season.
This season Peavy has allowed 14 homers
While he's not the only pitcher who has allowed 14 dingers, take a look at some of the other pitchers who have done it as well.
| SLUG | HR | IP | GS | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Peavy | .439 | 14 | 80.0 | 13 | 4.27 |
| James Shields | .369 | 14 | 148.1 | 22 | 3.09 |
| Max Scherzer | .336 | 14 | 143.1 | 21 | 3.01 |
| Jordan Zimmermann | .373 | 14 | 141.0 | 21 | 3.19 |
| Scott Kazmir | .419 | 14 | 105.0 | 19 | 4.11 |
| David Price | .404 | 14 | 103.0 | 15 | 3.57 |
| Erik Bedard | .435 | 14 | 103.0 | 19 | 4.28 |
Peavy was not a cheap acquisition for Boston
Not only does Boston assume the rest of Peavey's salary (he's signed through 2014 at $14.5 million), but they gave up three low-level prospects and an important trade chip in Jose Iglesias.
Forget the inflated Iglesias batting average, the Tigers don't need bats. He is a spectacular fielder who may do for Detroit what Orlando Cabrera did for the 2004 Red Sox when he was picked up on July 31, 2004 and has the ring to prove it.
The White Sox needed Peavy to pitch like an ace.
The Red Sox don't need that.
They just need Peavy to stay healthy and keep the ball in the park, pitch like a number three, and then his new Sox will do the rest.