When the Orioles acquired Bud Norris from the Houston Astros when Bud’s ‘Stros were in Baltimore last July, the reaction among fans, for the most part, was lukewarm. It was clear the Orioles needed to upgrade their starting pitching, but many weren’t convinced Norris was the answer.
Norris would start nine games in August and September, posting a 4.69 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 48 innings. Opposing batters produced a slash line of .295/.364/.466 in those outings.
With Jim Johnson traded to the Oakland A’s during the offseason, and the closer situation unsettled heading into spring training, there was speculation Bud Norris could be a solution to fill the role. Then, the Orioles signed Ubaldo Jimenez, meaning one less spot in the rotation was up for grabs with several competing for a place behind him, Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, and Miguel Gonzalez.
In his first spring training with the Birds, Norris allowed just five earned runs over 17 innings (2.65 ERA) and secured a place in Buck Showalter’s starting rotation for opening day.
Against the Detroit Tigers on April 5, his first start of the season, Norris surrendered nine hits and five earned runs over five innings. That’s been his least productive start of the season (by a decent amount, if you’re familiar with Bill James’ Game Score grading system).
Since then, Norris has pitched to a 2.98 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 31 strikeouts, while allowing batters to hit just .213/.298/.350 over 45.1 innings. He’s gone 6+ innings in five of the seven games.
Unfortunately, Norris’ record is just 2-3 in those games because of a general lack of run support he receives when on the mound.
In 2014, 28.1 of Norris’ 50.1 total innings pitched have come when the Orioles have 0-2 runs on the scoreboard. To say he’s been stingy in those innings would be a bit of an understatement. Batters have mustered just a .194/.266/.296 line in 98 at-bats. Norris has a 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in those situations.
American League starters, as a whole, this season have posted a 4.16 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and opponents batting line of .255/.320/.412, with similar run support.
This past Saturday, Norris held the Kansas City Royals to four hits and one run over 7.1 innings. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Orioles’ offense was blanked by the combination of Danny Duffy, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland.
And the story of Bud Norris’ 2014 season continued.
Overall, Norris leads Oriole starters in WHIP (1.13), hits allowed per nine innings (7.7), and first pitch strike percentage (60.7%). He ranks second in ERA (3.58), OPS against (.691), innings (50.1), and walks allowed (14). The six double plays Norris has induced also lead the club.
Given the way 2014 started, and how 2013 went, I’m sure not many would have expected those numbers at this point of the season, but here we are. Quietly, Bud Norris is putting together a solid campaign, although you wouldn’t know it by looking solely at his win-loss record (2-4). So, don’t.
