Rick Porcello placed himself in exclusive company with his 20th victory. He also provided the impetus for a stroll through Red Sox history.
Last Friday, Rick Porcello earned his 20th victory of the season, as the Red Sox routed the Blue Jays 13-3 at The Rogers Centre and became the first Red Sox pitcher to win 20 games since Josh Beckett in 2007.
In winning 20 games in a single season for the Boston Red Sox, Porcello gained membership to an exclusive club that is composed of only seven other members: Curt Schilling, Dennis Eckersley, Derek Lowe, Josh Beckett, Pedro Martinez (twice), Roger Clemens (thrice), and Luis Tiant (thrice). This list only includes pitchers from 1969, the year that the pitching mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches, to the present.
Porcello required only 23 decisions to reach his 20th victory, the fewest by any Red Sox pitcher in the entire storied history of the Boston Red Sox.
In addition, the post-1968 Red Sox record for wins in a season is 24, established by Clemens in 1986. Porcello is likely to get four or, at the most, five more starts this season. Hence, breaking or tying Clemens’ record is possible, although seemingly unlikely.
One more interesting factoid about Porcello and his 105 career victories that would likely surprise most fans: Porcello is one of only five active pitchers in all of Major League Baseball to attain 100 career victories prior to the age of 28. The four other active pitchers to accomplish said feat include Clayton Kershaw, CC Sabathia, Felix Hernandez, and Justin Verlander, placing Porcello in very select company.
Next: Curt Schilling