To borrow from another language, Clemson baseball is en fuego. Since dropping two of three games in the season-opening series against Wright State, the Tigers are 21-2. Heading into this weekend’s series with Georgia Tech, Clemson has won eight consecutive games and boasts an 8-1 mark in ACC play.
For stat nerds, this means the Tigers have done some amazing things. Here are ten numbers to know to properly contextualize what Clemson has done:
2.53: Clemson’s team earned run average. That’s among the nation’s best marks, and it gets even better when just considering the starting staff. The weekend rotation of Charlie Barnes, Alex Eubanks, and Pat Krall currently sports a combined 2.17 ERA in 116 innings pitched.
4.44: Strikeout-to-walk ratio for Clemson’s pitching staff. The Tigers have struck out 262 batters and walked only 59 this season. The school record for K:BB ratio is 3.16, set by the 1996 team that boasted arguably the best rotation in Clemson history.
6: Shutouts in Clemson’s first 25 games. This is the proverbial cherry on top of the Tigers’ pitching dominance. Clemson hasn’t done this since the 1980 season. That team won the ACC title and participated in the College World Series. Just recently, the Tigers shut out three consecutive opponents for the first time in 25 years and had a 30-inning scoreless streak snapped on Wednesday.
11: Number of players who have started at least 11 games. The depth of Clemson’s position players has been a big part of its success so far. Only two players—Seth Beer and Logan Davidson—have played in every game this season. Monte Lee has had to mix and match due to injury, but he has also gotten to tinker with his lineup because so many players have produced at various times.
20: Wins in 1-run games for Monte Lee. This dates back to last year and includes a current ten-game winning streak. The 2017 Tigers are a perfect 6-0 this year in one-run games.
21: Straight wins when scoring a run. This stat is so absurd, I’m not sure it’s ever been done in the history of college baseball. Since Clemson’s 1-2 start, the only games it has lost have been by 2-0 scores. Therefore, when Clemson scores one run, it has won 21 consecutive games. Again, that’s just ridiculous.
40.7: Percentage of base-stealers thrown out by Clemson. For an individual catcher, anything over 30 percent is considered good. Anything over 35 percent is considered excellent. The Tigers have only allowed 19 of 32 attempted base-stealers to reach the desired base this season.
67.3: Strand rate for Clemson’s bullpen. This is a big deal because it builds trust among pitchers when they know the rest of the staff can pick them up if they leave with runners on base. Among 52 runners on base when Monte Lee makes a pitching change this season, only 17 have scored. Among the best at stranding runners: Ryan Miller (6-7), Ryley Gilliam (5-6), Jacob Hennessy (10-13), Jeremy Beasley (9-12), and Alex Schnell (8-11).
.309: Batting average on balls in play for the Tigers. This doesn’t include home runs or strikeouts and can be an indicator of good or bad luck. Generally, a .300 BABIP is considered very good, and this Clemson team could see a tiny increase just because of the number of good baserunners on the roster. Oddly enough, Clemson’s opponents have fared even better on balls in play, hitting at a .311 clip so far.
.798: Team OPS for the Tigers. For an entire lineup, this is an exceptionally good combination of on-base and slugging percentages. It speaks to Clemson’s propensity to take walks (its 145 free passes earned this season is among the best in the nation) and its ability to take extra bases. Obviously, Seth Beer’s power helps a lot, but Christ Williams and Weston Jackson have combined for ten homers, too. As a comparison, the Tigers’ opponents have fared significantly worse (.623) this season.