subject: Mlb Tickets - Sensational Pitching Performances Of 2012 [print this page] The old adage that "pitching and defense wins championships" has always held true in Major League Baseball. While four-homer games like Josh Hamilton's performance and high-scoring affairs will always entertain the casual bandwagon fans, it's the ultimate sustained success of a team culminating in a World Series win that lasts forever. Look at the biggest games in regular season or postseason history. The teams that sell the most MLB tickets are ones that have a solid pitching staff that's capable of lasting through October. So far in 2012, we've seen some exceptional single-game performances, as well as pitchers who are really stepping up to help their teams out this season.
1) R.A. Dickey - New York Mets:
Pitchers typically experience their "prime seasons" from around 27 to 32 years of age, but with knuckleball pitchers like Dickey and Tim Wakefield, sometimes success takes longer due to grasping and succeeding with the knuckleball. Dickey not only has been succeeding as a knuckleball pitcher, but he's been outperforming other more "conventional" pitchers in baseball. After dominating with back-to-back one-hitters, analysts don't consider this a mere hot streak as Dickey is locked in on the mound. Born without an ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, the introspective Dickey is proving that you can succeed without throwing 95 miles per hour.
2) Matt Cain - San Francisco Giants
Over the last few seasons, if you asked fans or baseball pundits about the San Francisco Giants pitching staff, nearly everybody would mention "The Freak" Tim Lincecum - and for good reason. While winning two Cy Young Awards before the age of 26 will do that for a pitcher, it's his teammate Cain who has carried the Giants. One year younger than Lincecum and with more career wins, it's the Alabaman nicknamed "Big Sugar" that's carried the Giants this year. Stepping up after signing a long-term contract, Cain has blown away opposing hitters, culminating with a perfect game where he struck out 14 hitters in one of the most dominant performances in baseball history. Whether Lincecum can rebound and gain his previous form, or if he's "peaked" himself, it's the career of Cain that might turn out to be the best one of them all.
3) Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
While the Tigers shocked the baseball world when they signed former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine-year contract, their ace starter Justin Verlander has one thing that Fielder or teammate Miguel Cabrera has yet to win -- a Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. In 2011, Verlander's season for the ages netted him not only the American League Cy Young Award but also the American League MVP. While the Tigers are hoping that Fielder and Cabrera can bash them to the postseason and hold up with their shaky defense, it's their superstar leading the pitching staff that is even more integral to the team. Verlander continues to dominate all of baseball with his high-strikeout performances, being one of the few players who throws even harder at the end of his games than he does at the beginning of them.
