3-time All-Star signed 7-year contract with Giants Dec.
29, 2006,
becoming highest profile
free agent pitcher in franchise
history...28-year-old southpaw has fashioned outstanding start to
career, going 102-63 with 3.55
ERA in 222 Major League starts since
2000 debut...his .618 winning percentage is 12th-
best among active
pitchers, while he has limited opponents to
just .232 batting avg.
against -- 4th-lowest
mark among
current hurlers with at least 1,400
innings...2002
American League
Cy Young Award
winner has registered at
least 10 wins and 200 innings in each of his 6 full
seasons in majors,
surpassing 14-victory barrier 5 times and 220-frame marker on 4
occasions...in fact, beginning with his 1st full campaign in 2001, has
averaged nearly 16 wins, 35 starts and 223.0 innings
per year...has
never missed start in his career, while pacing majors with 208 opening
assignments since 2001 (
Greg Maddux is 2nd with 206)...during 6-year
stretch from 2001-06, ranks 3rd in
big leagues for innings pitched
(1,337.2), 4th for wins (95) and 9th for strikeouts (1,018)...workhorse
is 1 of only 4 ML pitchers to
log at least 200 innings over that span,
joining
Mark Buehrle,
Freddy Garcia and
Livan Hernandez...helped his
Oakland Athletics teams to 5 playoff berths in 7 years by being game's
best 2nd-half pitcher, going 59-27 with 3.26 ERA in 108
career starts
after All-Star Break...59 post-Break
victories are most by any pitcher
since 2000, eclipsing such stalwarts as
Tim Hudson (57 wins),
Andy
Pettitte (56), Maddux (55) and Bartolo
Colon (54)...has led
AL in
starts 4 times, while also ranking among
junior circuit's
top 10 in ERA
during 4 different campaigns...in 108
lifetime starts with at least 4
runs of support, is 85-4 (.955)...originally selected by A's in 1st
round (9th
pick overall) of 1999 First-Year Player Draft, leaves
club
with
name etched throughout
Oakland-era leaderboard...is 4th in Oakland
annals for wins, strikeouts (1,096) and starts, while placing 5th for
winning pct. and innings pitched (1,430.1)...also
ranked 2nd with 11
career double-digit strikeout
games, behind only
Vida Blue's 21 such
efforts.