It Is A Crime That Shawn Chacon Has Never Been Invited To Yankees Old-Timers Day
We’ve heard your feedback. “Barstool needs more blogs about Shawn Chacon.” You asked. I delivered.
Yesterday was the Yankees annual Old-Timers Day. The organization brings back a bunch of retired player for a pregame ceremony and then a game. The players range from Whitey Ford to Nick Swisher. It’s a pretty cool day for Yankee fans, even if the game drags on a bit and loses its luster after like the first inning.
Anyway, the reason I’m writing this blog is because Shawn Chacon does not get the respect he deserves. I love Shawn Chacon. I put him on my personal favorite Yankee Mount Rushmore on an episode of The Short Porch with Hubbs.
The Yankees acquired Chacon midway through the 2005 season and he delivered down the stretch big time. He went 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA. In his Yankee debut, he allowed 1 run through 6 innings against the Angels. To this day, that’s my favorite pitching line out there. In his playoff start, also against the Angels, he was nails. He allowed 2 runs through 6.1 innings.
He was pretty awful in 2006 so the Yankees got rid of him to the Pirates. I was devastated. I wrote him a letter asking for an autographed picture and sent it to PNC Park. He never responded, but I don’t hold that against him (even it’s probably the only letter he ever received asking for an autograph, but I digress).
Now, I understand he probably didn’t do enough to earn an invite back to Old-Timers Day. But guess what? If Aaron Small has gotten to comeback three times, then Shawn Chacon gets to come back at least once.
I hate Aaron Small’s guts. He gets all the shine just because he went 10-0 during the 2005 stretch, overshadowing what Chacon did. But guess what? Chacon was better and doesn’t get nearly the same level of recognition. Let’s compare their 2005 runs.
Tale of the Tape: Shaw Chacon vs. Aaron Small
Wins
Aaron Small: 10
Shawn Chacon: 7
Wins are a meaningless stat and not a true indicator of a pitcher’s performance. Aaron Small got a ton of run support. Shawn Chacon didn’t. If anything, Shawn Chacon deserves more credit for having to deal with low run support and still grinding out quality starts.
Advantage: Chacon
ERA
Aaron Small: 3.20
Shawn Chacon: 2.85
The most important stat for a pitcher, and Shawn Chacon was more than a third of a run better. The debate should just end here, but I’ll keep going.
Advantage: Chacon
Innings Pitched
Aaron Small: 76
Shawn Chacon: 79
Shawn Chacon gave more of his body to the Yankees than Aaron Small did. Next.
Advantage: Chacon
K/BB Ratio
Aaron Small: 37 K / 24 BB
Shawn Chacon: 35 K/ 36 BB
Dumb stat.
Advantage: Chacon
Made Playoff Rotation?
Aaron Small: No
Shawn Chacon: Yes
2006 ERA (before Small was cut and Chacon was traded)
Aaron Small: 8.56
Shawn Chacon: 7.00
Advantage: Chacon
I rest my case.
@TomScibelli on Twitter
(PS: The haters said I’d never write a blog comparing two journeymen pitchers who haven’t pitched in the majors for over a decade. Boy, is it a tough day to be them).