Is Shane Bieber Already Pitching Better in 2021 Than He Did in 2020?

When history is spoken about regarding the early going of the 2021 MLB season, the one thing that will pop into the minds of a lot of people include the following:

The 13-3 start for the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The historic pitching effort from Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber, who Sunday was at it again against a solid Cincinnati Reds lineup.

If you're a Dodgers fan, each night is  party with a lineup and pitching staff that is far and away the best in the Majors.

Indians fans who have the ability to watch their team on a daily basis on the new Bally Sports channel, have enjoyed four starts thus far for Bieber - all of them to date memorable.

Including Sunday.

Against the Reds, Bieber went eight solid innings, allowing three runs and six hits with two walks.

The tweets about Bieber making history were fast and furious on Sunday afternoon as the Tribe closed out a 6-3 win at the Great American Ballpark, taking one of the three games between the two Ohio clubs. 

"That's why you call guys aces. And he certainly has lived up to that," Indians manager Terry Francona said after the win. 

"He's really accountable for what he needs to do."

So what is Bieber doing that is making the 2021 season even better than what he did a season ago when he clinched with ease the American League Cy Young award?

He has been striking out batters at a historic record rate in Major League Baseball, and finally the rest of the league is starting to take notice.

Sunday he struck out 13 Reds, which is actually the most batters he has struck out in a single game thus far in his first four starts.

He also became the first pitcher in big league history to begin the season with four straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts since the mound was moved to its current distance back in 1893.

Yeah, the kid's pretty good.

Bieber is unquestionably the best pitcher on the team, and likely the best in the American League again in 2021. 

What Bieber has done in just four starts is nothing short of amazing, and now with a struggling New York Yankees team coming to town for his next start, it could be easy pickins of plenty of K's when he takes the mound Friday evening.

When you start mentioning the name Nolan Ryan along with your own when talking about the start of the season, you know you're doing something right.

With Bieber yet again on pace for another award in October, the Indians and their fans have a great shot to watch history in the making on a young roster that has shown promise so far in 2021.