First off, a definition of the DerekLoweWin. A DLW is any game in which a starter:
* Gets the win
* Gives up at least 4 earned runs
* Has a WPA* of -0.05 or worse
* WPA (Win Probability Added) measures how much a player improves (or hinders) his team's chances of winning a game.
Here is a short primer on it. For our purposes, a WPA of -0.05 or worse means that the pitcher reduced his team's chances of winning by 5% or more. I put this requirement in there to eliminate the games in which a pitcher gets a huge lead early and gives up some runs that don't really affect his team's chances of winning.
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WIthout further ado, here are the leaders in DerekLoweWins since 2000. I've also given each player's wins since 2000 (as a starter) and the percentage of those wins that were DLWs.
I've got to hand it to gondeee: he called this one.
Derek Lowe is indeed quite skilled at accruing DerekLoweWins. Though he's got nothing on Jon Garland.
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A few other fun facts:
* Jack Morris is the all-time leader in DLWs with 29--way ahead of the next-highest pitcher, Roger Clemens with 20. This is perfect, since Morris is the posterboy for the "Some Players Just Know How to Win" crowd. Apparently, Morris really did know something no one else did about winning even while sucking. His DLW% of 11.4% is also third all-time behind Garland and Eaton.
* The MLB average in DLW% in 2009 was 5.3%, so Derek Lowe gets DLWs at about twice the league average rate. Adam Eaton, though, "earned" them at nearly 3x the league average rate. Impressive!
* Three players led MLB with 3 DLWs in 2009: Gil Meche, Moyer, and (interestingly) Adam Wainwright. Lowe had two DLWs in 2009: May 6th against Florida (5 IP, 6 ER, Braves win 8-6) and September 10th against Houston (5.2 IP, 5 ER, Braves win 9-7).
* Lowe has at least one DLW in every year since 2002, when he became a full-time starter.
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