It's time for a statistical update on Madison Bumgarner, unusual 22-year-old. Here's how he stacks up with other players who made 50 starts or more before turning 23:
| Rk | Player | GS | Age | IP | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Bumgarner | 3.88 | 63 | 19-22 | 399.2 | 89 | 345 | 3.09 | 118 |
| 2 | Bert Blyleven | 3.49 | 141 | 19-22 | 1054.2 | 242 | 845 | 2.76 | 131 |
| 3 | Don Sutton | 3.47 | 69 | 21-22 | 458.1 | 109 | 378 | 3.48 | 92 |
| 4 | Bret Saberhagen | 3.33 | 75 | 20-22 | 549.0 | 103 | 343 | 3.41 | 121 |
| 5 | Dwight Gooden | 3.24 | 124 | 19-22 | 924.1 | 275 | 892 | 2.46 | 146 |
| 6 | Frank Tanana | 3.17 | 106 | 19-22 | 840.2 | 231 | 732 | 2.73 | 125 |
| 7 | Ismael Valdez | 3.05 | 61 | 20-22 | 451.0 | 115 | 351 | 3.19 | 120 |
| 8 | Walter Johnson | 3.04 | 120 | 19-22 | 1033.0 | 233 | 708 | 1.73 | 140 |
| 9 | Vida Blue | 2.84 | 72 | 19-22 | 543.2 | 166 | 471 | 2.48 | 130 |
| 10 | Felix Hernandez | 2.75 | 104 | 19-22 | 666.1 | 216 | 593 | 3.80 | 114 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
The regular caveats apply: Hitters are striking out a lot more these days -- like, a lot more -- and that needs to be taken into context. Dwight Gooden and Vida Blue were insane. But if you just want a simple list of the 22-year-olds by walks per nine innings, Bumgarner comes out well there, too.
A point? I have none, other than "Madison Bumgarner is a talented young pitcher." But I love following just how unusual he is when it comes to his command.