Miz deals to wrap one of the most dominant pitching seasons ever

MILWAUKEE -- Every start day was an event when Jacob Misiorowski took the mound during the Brewers’ record-setting 103-win regular season. Right down to the finale.

The 24-year-old Brewers ace got a standing ovation as he trotted to the dugout to warm up, and another as he walked off the mound following his final tune-up for the postseason in Sunday’s 6-4 Brewers win at American Family Field, having just struck out Cardinals star Jordan Walker to tie a bow on one of the most dominant seasons in history.

With 5 1/3 more scoreless innings on two hits and two walks, with five strikeouts and a fastball up to 102.7 mph, the 6-foot-7 Brewers ace finished as the Major League leader in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80) and opponents’ average (.157) in 174 2/3 scintillating innings.

He joined Corbin Burnes (2021) as the only pitchers in Brewers franchise history to win MLB’s ERA title, and joined Justin Verlander (2019) and Pedro Martínez (2000) as the only pitchers in history with 250-plus strikeouts and a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) as low as 0.80. And according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Misiorowski joined Sandy Koufax (1965), J.R. Richard (1976) and Mike Scott (1986) as the only pitchers since 1950 to lead the Majors in ERA, strikeouts and opponents’ average.

You could keep going forever. The Brewers finished with the best record in baseball at 103-59, and there was no question about who led the pitching staff.

Here are some other measures on record for pitchers who logged at least 170 innings in a season:

Strikeout rate
39.9% Gerrit Cole 2019
37.9% Misiorowski 2026
37.5% Pedro Martínez 1999
37.4% Randy Johnson 2001
36.8% Spencer Strider 2023

WHIP
0.74 Pedro Martínez 2000
0.78 Walter Johnson 1913
0.80 Misiorowski 2026
0.80 Justin Verlander 2019
0.81 Addie Joss 1908

Opponents’ average
.157 Misiorowski 2026
.167 Pedro Martínez 2000
.168 Luis Tiant 1968
.171 Nolan Ryan 1972
.172 Nolan Ryan 1991
.172 Justin Verlander 2019

For ERA, we’ll use 1969 as the starting point, since that’s the year MLB lowered the mound to its current height in response to “The Year of the Pitcher” in ‘68. Here is where Misiorowski fits among the best ERAs since then among pitchers who logged at least 170 innings:

1.53 Dwight Gooden 1985
1.56 Greg Maddux 1994
1.63 Greg Maddux 1995
1.66 Zack Greinke 2015
1.70 Jacob deGrom 2018
1.74 Pedro Martínez 2000
1.74 Ron Guidry 1978
1.75 Justin Verlander 2022
1.76 Tom Seaver 1971
1.77 Jake Arrieta 2015
1.80 Misiorowski 2026
1.82 Vida Blue 1971
1.83 Clayton Kershaw 2014
1.87 Roger Clemens 2005