Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase is really, really good at throwing a baseball with precision and purpose.
When it comes to run prevention, he has shown time and again that there are very few pitchers like him, and we are talking about the history of the game and not just 2024.
Clase is part of a select group of hurlers with his excellent ability to prevent damage.
“The only 3 big league pitchers in the last 100 years to pitch more than 130 innings and have an ERA below 2.00,” Codify Baseball posted X.
the only 3 big league pitchers in the last 100 years to pitch more than 130 innings and have an ERA below 2.00 pic.twitter.com/cqGDn5tyo6
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) January 29, 2025
Just to be clear, the post refers to career ERA, not single-season ERA.
In the last century, only three hurlers have accumulated a career ERA lower than 2.00 in at least 130 frames.
All three pitchers are active, and all of them are 30 or younger: Clase, New York Yankees’ Devin Williams, and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
After his 0.61 ERA last year, the Guardians ninth-inning star lowered his career ERA to a pristine 1.67, in 312.2 innings.
He is already the Guardians’ leader in saves and has the highest single-season mark in franchise history, too.
He doesn’t miss as many bats as Williams or Skenes, but that hasn’t stopped him from posting some impressive and historically relevant stats.
He is under contract for a long time in Cleveland and at an affordable rate.
When everything is said and done, his franchise records will be very hard to surpass.
His 100-mph cutter might have a place among the very best pitches in the history of the game, and it has helped him achieve enormous success, fame, and money.
NEXT: Guardians Catcher Reveals Why His Position Produces So Many Good Managers
