it makes sense. i mean look at maine’s game in ‘07; it was masterful but he only went 7.2 IP (89 gamescore). none of the guys above went any fewer than 9, and most went more. gamescore may be simple but in a lot of ways it’s a more elegant measure than some of the most advanced metrics out there.

johan has never reached a 90 gamescore as a met. his epic CG start to end the season in ‘08 was an 87. compared to the lines above, the combination of 3 hits and 3 walks is kind of a lot, especially considering he didn’t even reach double digit K’s. he actually hit 88 a few weeks before against the pirates but lacked the strikeouts (9 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K). one other 87 versus the rockies in 2010 rounds out his three best as a met.

as for gooden, he actually would appear on this list if i didn’t cut it at a round number of starts (20). he posted a gamescore of 93 in his rookie season in ‘84. the reason reed and saberhagen appear first is because i was grouping in order of most recent starts in the event of a tie. he would go on to post dozens more games in the high 80’s and low 90’s but never was able to crack that 93 mark.