Is Framber Valdez's Quality Start Streak More Impressive Than Aaron Judge's Home Run Chase?

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez broke Major League Baseball's consecutive quality start record. Is it a streak that will ever be broken again?

Author:
Ben Silver
Publish date:
Sep 26, 2022 3:07 PM EDT

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Houston Astros

213 days. That's almost five full months, about 85% of a baseball season.

It's often one can look at a statline and see a good pitcher. We all know the thresholds: 200 innings pitched, 200 strikeouts, over 4.00 ERA is bad, under 3.00 ERA is good, but they don't tell a story.

One can have an ERA under 3.00 and still have a bad month. Another pitcher could have an ERA above 4.00 and have two Cy Young caliber months before falling back to mediocrity.

Houston Astros' starter Framber Valdez had a 2.69 ERA through Sept. 23. He's one of very few players who can say that a statistic accurately represents his entire season. For 213 days, from Apr. 25 through Sept. 23, every game Valdez pitched in was a quality start.

He had no individual spurts of greatness, no moments of weakness. Month-to-month his ERA always fell between 2.04 and 3.21, his high coming in July, the heart of his 25-game record-breaking quality start streak.

Above all Valdez valued consistency. It is a trait many strive for, but few achieve. Consistency doesn't set records, it rarely wins titles. It often results in a good team, not a great team, and is less often celebrated.

How much more often have you heard Aaron Judge's home run chase mentioned over Valdez's quality start streak?

Judge has played only three full Major League seasons in his career out of six possible. He's been a great player in 2022, no doubt, but he's had ups and downs. After his 60th home run he's gone five games without a big fly.

Valdez never made anyone wait. He went out and performed every time he took the mound. Of course, the thresholds upon which we measure position players and pitchers are wildly different, but can you truly say Valdez's record breaking streak is any less impressive than Judge's assault on the single season home run record?

What Valdez did in 2022 will probably never be done again. Pitchers in today's baseball throw too few innings. There's too much micro management and tinkering on a day-to-day basis to again reach the level of consistency Valdez displayed.

Can the same be said for the single season home run record? What threshold has the most realistic chance of being broken again? 60 home runs, or 25 consecutive quality starts?