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The greatest Giant-killers in history, Part II: the pitchers

By Grant Brisbee
USA TODAY Sports

Well, you figured this one was coming. But you probably didn't figure on just how gross the top of the list was going to be. Here are the lowest career ERAs against the Giants from pitchers with more than 10 starts.

Rk Player G ERA W L W-L% GS IP H HR BB SO
1 Clayton Kershaw 18 1.28 9 4 .692 17 127.0 81 5 27 134
2 Mat Latos 11 2.19 4 3 .571 11 74.0 54 4 12 55
3 Dave Dravecky 29 2.19 11 6 .647 14 123.1 106 11 33 72
4 Don Wilson 25 2.20 11 7 .611 23 176.0 140 10 54 150
5 Gaylord Perry 10 2.26 3 4 .429 10 63.2 61 2 21 42
6 Al Demaree 15 2.26 7 6 .538 12 111.2 93 3 30 32
7 Phil Douglas 19 2.27 4 8 .333 11 99.0 86 4 22 43
8 Tom Poholsky 21 2.29 6 6 .500 16 117.2 102 13 24 48
9 Jim Bunning 39 2.29 17 11 .607 35 278.2 206 25 77 202
10 Larry Cheney 25 2.29 6 7 .462 14 129.2 113 3 45 59
11 David Palmer 14 2.31 2 3 .400 12 74.0 56 0 36 51
12 Carlos Zambrano 13 2.32 5 1 .833 12 77.2 63 4 43 57
13 Ian Kennedy 14 2.33 6 2 .750 14 96.2 70 5 29 85
14 Tim Belcher 19 2.41 9 5 .643 17 116.0 101 5 29 88
15 Charlie Lea 11 2.44 6 1 .857 11 77.1 67 6 32 43
16 Larry Christenson 16 2.45 6 4 .600 15 106.1 78 5 26 59
17 Steve Trachsel 21 2.46 10 4 .714 21 139.0 117 10 54 86
18 Pat Ragan 13 2.49 2 7 .222 10 76.0 64 1 25 36
19 Steve Rogers 31 2.50 11 13 .458 30 226.2 169 10 61 141
20 Jerry Koosman 33 2.52 12 8 .600 31 239.2 192 18 95 186
21 Jack Coombs 16 2.54 9 7 .563 14 131.0 119 5 33 26
22 Mark Portugal 21 2.55 11 3 .786 20 134.0 110 9 33 97
23 Jimmy Lavender 14 2.55 5 8 .385 13 95.1 68 3 26 39
24 Pete Schneider 18 2.57 5 7 .417 15 112.0 113 1 39 37
25 David Cone 13 2.60 7 4 .636 12 86.2 75 7 29 104
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

Gross. Now, there's one thing to point out, and that's Kershaw and Latos haven't had decline phases yet. There will be a time when Mat Latos is old and decrepit, and he won't be able to throw 87 anymore, and he'll bounce from team to team, trying to latch on, trying to get a spring-training invite, trying to squeak onto a 40-man roster. And at some point, there will be no more point in trying. He'll get the message.

And we will be there to say, "Good sir, your face looks like a thumb and no one likes you."

But until then, he kind of owns the Giants!

Posey-latos-grand-slam_medium

most of the time lol

The odds are that when Latos retires, he isn't going to be #2 or #3 or maybe even #10. He hasn't been a old, broken-down pitcher yet.

Of course, Kershaw never will be on of those. He'll pitch until he's 44 and then retire to feed starving children or something. Why can't he be as loathsome as Latos? Guess we'll just have to double-down on the Latos hate to make up for it ...

Some of the surprises on the list:

Dave Dravecky was apparently a Giant-killer before he joined the team. Did not know that. Mark Portugal is kind of the gold standard when it comes to the Giants acquiring an old nemesis, but Dravecky might have been a better example.

Carlos Zambrano? Didn't expect that. But I guess he was in his prime when the Giants were regularly among the least patient teams in the league, so it makes sense. Flail away, fellas, and the next one might be right down the middle. There's never been anything wrong with that philosophy.

All of those Gaylord Perry innings were post-Giants, obviously. He pitched for the Padres and Braves in the NL after leaving the Giants, and only for a combined three seasons. But I guess he was really, really annoyed at the Giants for shipping him off.

Of all the annoying names up there, I think Steve Trachsel is the most annoying. He took six minutes between pitches and he wasn't very good. Yet he routinely shut the Giants down.

The full list is here. Here's what you need to know:

#2 Mat Latos
#13 Ian Kennedy
#50 Greg Maddux
#166 Pedro Martinez

That probably says it all. Pedro Martinez was the Ian Kennedy of the rest of baseball.

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