Cy Young Profile: Brandon Webb, 2006

Pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks

Age:  27 (May 9)

4^th season with Diamondbacks

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 230

Prior to 2006:

A native of Ashland, Kentucky, Webb excelled in Little League and as a high school pitcher, earning a scholarship to the Univ. of Kentucky, where he developed an effective slider to go with his sinking fastball. He was chosen by the Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2000 amateur draft. He had a brief stint in the Arizona Rookie League and South Bend of the Class A Midwest League in 2000 until sidelined by a sore arm. Webb moved up to Lancaster of the Class A California League in 2001 where he set a club record with 16 strikeouts in a game on his way to a 6-10 record with 158 strikeouts and a 3.99 ERA. He also walked 44 batters as he dealt with control issues. Webb moved up to El Paso of the Class AA Texas League in 2002 where he started 25 games and compiled a 10-6 record with 122 strikeouts in 152 innings and a 3.14 ERA. He made one appearance with Class AAA Tucson, where he also started the 2003 season. After three starts he was promoted to the Diamondbacks and moved into the starting rotation following one relief appearance. He ended up with a 10-9 record and 2.84 ERA and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. With a defensively-deficient last-place team in 2004, Webb had a respectable performance, going 7-16 with a 3.59 ERA, although leading the NL with 119 walks. He emerged as the ace of the staff in 2005, posting a 14-12 tally and a 3.54 ERA in his 33 starts while also striking out 172 batters in 229 innings. In the offseason he was rewarded with a four-year $19.5 million contract extension.   

2006 Season Summary

Appeared in 33 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [13, tied with six others]

Complete Games – 5 [2, tied with Chris Carpenter]

Wins – 16 [1, tied with four others]

Losses – 8

PCT - .667 [4, tied with Derek Lowe]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 3 [1, tied with Chris Carpenter]

Innings Pitched – 235 [2]

Hits – 216 [18]

Runs – 91

Earned Runs – 81

Home Runs – 15

Bases on Balls – 50

Strikeouts – 178 [10, tied with Andy Pettitte]

ERA – 3.10 [3]

Hit Batters – 6

Balks – 2 [5, tied with five others]

Wild Pitches – 5

Midseason Snapshot: 9-3, ERA - 2.65, SO – 103 in 139.1 IP

---

Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 7 IP) vs. Milwaukee 7/15, (in 9 IP) vs. Colorado 9/15

10+ strikeout games – 2

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis 9/9

Batting

PA – 86, AB – 73, R – 4, H – 11, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR- 0, RBI – 9, BB – 2, SO – 33, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .151, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 10, SF – 1

Fielding

Chances – 66

Put Outs – 17

Assists – 46

Errors – 3

DP – 3

Pct. - .955

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

All-Star

NL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Brandon Webb, Ariz.: 103 pts. – 15 of 32 first place votes, 64% share

Trevor Hoffman, SD: 77 pts. – 12 first place votes, 48% share

Chris Carpenter, StL.: 63 pts. – 2 first place votes, 39% share

Roy Oswalt, Hou.: 31 pts. – 3 first place votes, 19% share

Carlos Zambrano, ChiC.: 6 pts. – 4% share

Diamondbacks went 75-87 to finish fourth in the NL Western Division, 12 games behind the division-winning San Diego Padres.  

Aftermath of 2006:

Webb followed up with another strong season in 2007, compiling an 18-10 record with a 3.01 ERA and 194 strikeouts in a league-leading 236.1 innings, which included a string of 42 consecutive shutout innings. Webb was runner-up to San Diego’s Jake Peavy in NL Cy Young voting. Arizona topped the NL West and Webb was 1-1 in the postseason as the Diamondbacks advanced to the NLCS. In 2008, Webb was the winningest pitcher in the NL with a 22-7 record. His ERA was 3.30 and he struck out 183 batters and once again placed second in NL Cy Young Award voting. Webb opened the 2009 season by pitching four innings and giving up six runs before being lifted. It would prove to be his last major league appearance due to shoulder bursitis that required surgery and finished off a short career that was outstanding for a brief period. An attempted comeback with the Texas Rangers ended with rotator cuff surgery. In all, Webb started 198 games for the Diamondbacks and had an 87-62 record with 1065 strikeouts and a 3.27 ERA. He was a three-time All-Star.   

--

Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.