In the first arbitration hearing of the year Ross Ohlendorf has defeated the Pirates, meaning the 28-year-old right-hander will receive $2.025 million this season rather than the $1.4 million figure submitted by the team.
Ohlendorf won the case despite going 1-11 in 21 starts last season, which means he already has as many victories in 2011 as he had in all of 2010. Sort of.
With a 4.07 ERA in 108 innings (and a 3.92 ERA in 177 innings in 2009) he pitched much better than his ugly win-loss record suggests, so it’s interesting that Ohlendorf came out on top in a situation where rulings often come from people not particularly well-versed in modern baseball analysis.
Perhaps the Princeton graduate made a compelling case for himself or at least a compelling case against the importance of win-loss records for pitchers. Either way, it’s a victory for … well, not caring about victories.
