Sonny Gray: The Bad and the Ugly
We can all agree that Sonny Gray is not as bad as we think he is. A guy doesn’t rank in the top three in the Cy Young vote like Gray did in 2015 for nothing. A guy doesn’t rank top 10 in ERA 3x in his 6-year career for no reason either.
At the same time, we can all agree that the bad aspects of Sonny Gray’s game are pretty damn bad. For example, Gray ranked 9th worst among all SP last season in BB/9 (3.9), and 12th worst in H/9 (9.53). Because of this, Sonny Gray had the third worst WHIP (1.50) in all MLB.
Baserunners, as we know, equals runs, and runs equals wins… for the opposition in this case.
The scariest aspect of Gray’s game, however, are his home/away splits. In 2018, Sonny Gray went from being one of the top pitchers in MLB in away games, to arguably the worst in home games.
In away games, Sonny Gray was far better than league average (in fact, in 2018 he ranked in the top 25) in ALL of the following stats:
- ERA – Gray: 3.17 / LgAVG: 4.01
- H/9 – Gray: 7.6 / LgAVG: 8.4
- BB/9 – Gray: 2.8 / LgAVG: 3.0
- HR/9 – Gray: 0.4 / LgAVG: 1.1 (Leads MLB)
- SO/9 – Gray: 9.9 / LgAVG: 8.3
Like Jekyll & Hyde, however, put Sonny Gray on the mound for a start in the Bronx, and all hell breaks loose. Gray is so bad at home, that the Yankees might as well have avoided using him in New York altogether last season.
In home starts, Gray ranks in the bottom three in MLB in the following stats:
- ERA – Gray: 6.98 / LgAVG: 3.84
- H/9 – Gray: 11.9 / LgAVG: 8.3
- BB/9 – Gray: 5.3 / LgAVG: 2.8
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While MLB starting pitchers tend to get better at home – based on ERA (H: 3.84 vs A: 4.01) – Sonny Gray is the exact opposite. He shrinks under the bright lights of Broadway.
However, given that Gray is entering his final year under club control, and will become an unrestricted free agent next season, he should have something to prove. Given how well he pitches in away games, the Yankees coaching staff should be able to tap into something that will help Gray replicate those types of performances at home.
Perhaps it’s something like a mental skills coach. Former Yankees starting pitcher and currently unemployed mental skills coach, Bob Tewksbury, might have a thing or two to show Sonny Gray. Tewksbury got through 13 big league seasons with subpar stuff using mental skills strategies like “mental imagery,” which he details in his latest book Ninety Percent Mental.
The point is, why not give Gray another shot if you’re the Yankees? After once showing so much faith in him by giving up good prospects in order to bring him to New York, you’re suddenly going to throw in the towel? Even though he has shown promise?
I say, give him another shot. He might surprise us all.