Nationals Received Arguably Worst Pitching Season From Patrick Corbin in MLB History
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The Washington Nationals made a huge splash in free agency ahead of the 2019 MLB season when they signed starting pitcher Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract coming off his second All-Star appearance with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He was excellent in 2018, finishing fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting as well. In the midst of his prime, entering free agency after his age-28 campaign, a fruitful long-term partnership between Corbin and the Nationals looked to be possible.
During his first season with the team, Corbin was everything Washington had hoped he would be and more. He had a 5.1 bWAR in the regular season, a career high for a single campaign, and he was excellent during their run to the World Series title.
In the World Series against the Houston Astros, Corbin made three appearances, coming out of the bullpen twice, recording a 3.60 ERA across 10 innings. His three shutout innings pitched in relief of Max Scherzer in Game 7 were as big a reason as any that the Nationals were victorious.
Unfortunately, that was the height of the lefty’s time with Washington, as things quickly unraveled during the rest of his tenure with the franchise. In the 2020 COVID-19 shortened campaign, he surrendered the most hits in baseball with 85.
Corbin would do that two more times over the next four seasons. He also surrendered the most earned runs in 2021, 2022 and 2024 in baseball. In 2021, the 37 home runs he gave up were the most in the NL.
Patrick Corbin had one of the worst seasons ever in 2022
His 16 and 19 losses in 2021 and 2022 were the most in the MLB and in 2023, he suffered 15 more, which led the Senior Circuit. For a five-year span, Corbin was the most losing, hit and earned run-prone pitcher in baseball.
His 2022 campaign sticks out especially because it is amongst the worst single seasons in MLB history for a starting pitcher, highlighted by a post shared by Sox Savant on X that shared the worst individual pitching seasons of the Statcast Era.
In 2022, Corbin was in the first percentile with a Pitching Run Value of -43, the worst mark during this era. The breaking balls in his arsenal were especially poor, with a Breaking Run Value of -21.
Savant page compiled of the worst individual pitching seasons in the Statcast Era pic.twitter.com/8MjKO3uioy
— Sox Savant (@redsox_enjoyer) August 12, 2025
That year, he had a bWAR of -2.3 across 31 starts, going 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA in 152.2 innings pitched. He surrendered 210 hits and 107 earned runs, which were both the most in the MLB along with his total losses.
Some credit should be given to him for being able to take the ball every time it was his turn in the rotation. That kind of durability is rare these days. Even if his performance didn’t warrant continuing to receive starts, he was eating innings at the back end of the rotation.
Things didn’t pan out for Corbin and the Nationals, but they will always have that World Series run to remember and solidify his legacy with the franchise.
