The Greatest Hits of Pittsburgh Pirates Pitching Wizard Ray Searage

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates escaped the abyss of 20 consecutive losing seasons to make the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. A lot of the credit has gone to Clint Hurdle, Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. However, there is another man that deserves a huge amount of credit for the Pirates’ turnaround, and his name is Ray Searage or “Uncle Ray” as the team calls him. To most fans, he is simply The Pitching Wizard. Give him your mediocre pitcher and watch as he turns him into something that benefits the Pirates.

What does Uncle Ray do that is so special? It really varies from pitcher to pitcher. There have been many successful reclamation projects under Searage, and today we are going to look at some of the biggest and most notable success stories for starting pitchers, in no particular order. We will standardize this by looking at each pitcher’s record, ERA, FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), and WAR (Wins Above Replacement) values.

The one thing all these pitchers have in common is they were struggling big time before coming to Pittsburgh. Under Ray Searage, most have found a new level of pitching. For some, the change was mechanical. For others, they changed where they attack the strike zone or they added a new pitch to their game. The one constant is they went from mediocre or worse to a very good or better Big League Pitcher.

Lets jump right in and look at our first reclamation project under the Pitching Wizard.

Next: Steady Eddie

Edinson Volquez 

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Edinson Volquez burst onto the scene with the Cincinatti Reds in 2008 and looked like an absolute ace for the team. However, injuries and inconsistency derailed the promising career and many thought Volquez was going to be a one-hit wonder, and until 2014, those people were right. In the offseason between 2013 and 2014, Volquez signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates and it may have been the best thing to ever happen to him. For his part, Volquez had repeatedly credited Searage and company with revitalizing his career. Lost in all of the nuts and bolts with Searage is the fact that the man knows how to take his foot off the gas with his guys, as this quote from Volquez last year shows:

“The pitching coach (Ray Searage) came up to me before the game, and I thought we were going to go over the scouting report. Instead, he said, ‘You’ve seen these guys before. Just go win the game.'” — RHP Edinson Volquez

With Ray Searage as his pitching coach, Volquez changed several things about his approach to pitching. He started by throwing the fastball/change up combo less often and added the knuckle-curve. This kept opposing hitters completely off balance and instantly paid off for both Volquez and the Pirates.

WAR Totals in seasons before Searage: 2012: 1.0, 2013: -2.4.

WAR Total w/ Searage: 2014: 2.5

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• Added Knuckle Curve
  • 418 times thrown – MLB hit .191AVG/.262OBP/.255SLG/.517OPS/62wRC+
• Threw fastball less
  • 2012: 906 times – MLB hit: .283AVG/.434OBP/.475SLG/.908OPS/162wRC+
  • 2013: 593 times – MLB hit: .296AVG/.409OBP/.479SLG/.888OPS/160wRC+
  • 2014: 544 times – MLB Hit: .160AVG/.306OBP/.244SLG/.550OPS/73wRC+
• Threw change-up way less
  • 2012: 798 times – MLB hit: .183AVG/.264OBP/.262SLG/.526OPS/60wRC+
  • 2013: 620 times – MLB hit: .265AVG/.296OBP/.506SLG/.802OPS/136wRC+
  • 2014: 532 times – MLB hit: .232AVG/.299OBP/.333SLG/.632OPS/90wRC+

Next: The Dark Knight

A.J. Burnett

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Burnett already had a very established track record when he joined the Pirates in 2012, but he was coming off three very poor seasons in New York and the Pirates were able to add him for very cheap. People knew A.J. Burnett was talented, but they could not figure out why his numbers were so poor as a Yankee.

The first big change for Burnett was attacking the inner third of the plate. He went from averaging inside pitches on 34 percent of pitches to over 40 percent of his pitches as a member of the Pirates. He also started throwing his change-up way less often and completely dropped the cutter from his repertoire. This lead to an A.J. Burnett that could still get strike outs when needed, but wasn’t afraid to pound the strike zone and pitch to contact. With the change in his pitching, Burnett became the Pirates’ ace in 2012 and 2013 and he also became a folk hero because of his outgoing and outrageous attitude

WAR Totals before Searage: 2010: -0.8, 2011: 0.8

WAR Totals w/ Searage: 2012: 2.2; 2013: 1.7; 2015:2.4 *in progress

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• Threw pitches on the inner third of the plate more often.
  • 34.3% of time in 2010-2011 (With New York Yankees)
  • 40.4% of time in 2012-2013 (With Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Between 2011 and 2012 threw change-up less often.
  • 2011: .324AVG/.444OBP/.459SLG/.904SLG/159wRC+
  • 2012: Threw Only 180 times compared to 290 in 2011.
  • 2013: Threw change up only 175 times.
• Beginning in 2012 he dropped the cutter from his pitch repertoire. In 2011 MLB hit: .279AVG/.377OBP/.628SLG/1.005OPS/175wRC+

Next: Electric Stuff

Charlie Morton

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Charlie Morton is still something of an enigma to many Pirates’ fans. Read twitter during any Charlie Morton start and you will about as split of a reaction as any pitcher in all of baseball. Despite the sometimes fan backlash, Charlie Morton might be Ray Searage’s greatest success story.

The Pirates acquired Morton in the Nate McLouth trade and at first, it looked like a huge failure for the Pirates. Morton put up disastrous numbers in 2008 and 2009. 2010 was the absolute low point for Charlie Morton as he may have been the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball.

One great thing happened to Morton in 2010, Ray Searage became his pitching coach. Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Morton adopted the two-seam fastball and used it in place of the standard four-seam and the results were immediate. When his two-seem fastball (or sinker) is on, it’s one of the most difficult pitches to hit in all of baseball. The numbers speak for themselves.

WAR Totals before Searage: 2008: -1.0; 2009: 0.6; 2010: -2.3

WAR Totals w/Searage: 2011: 1.9; 2013: 0.5; 2014: 0.4; 2015: 0.3 *in progress

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*Ray Searage took over as pitching coach towards the end of the 2010 season.

• Early in career he threw the standard 4-seem fastball with very little success.
  • 2009: .320AVG/.409OBP/.470SLG/.879OPS/151wRC+
  • 2010: .322AVG/.422OBP/.467SLG/.889OPS/152wRC+
• 2011 added a 2-seem fastball to his pitching repertoire.
  • 2011 MLB hit: .117AVG/.179OBP/.155SLG/.334OPS/6wRC+
  • 2012, Morton missed most of the season with an injury.
  • 2013 MLB hit: .139AVG/.209OBP/.198SLG/.407OPS/31wRC+

Next: Filthy Frankie

Francisco Liriano

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Liriano was absolutely dynamic early in his career with the Minnesota Twins. He, along with Johan Santana made up perhaps the best one-two punch in all of baseball. Following his tremendous rookie season, Liriano struggled with consistency and eventually found himself out of Minnesota. After a brief stint with the Chicago White Sox, Liriano signed with the Pirates and much like the previous pitchers mentioned, instantly found success with Ray Searage.

The first thing Liriano changed upon arriving in Pittsburgh was relying on his slider as his primary pitch instead of his fastball and the results were incredible. Batters still cannot time Liriano’s slider and he makes some great hitters look absolutely foolish.

Francisco Liriano also started using his change-up as a secondary pitch and much like his slider, the results make plenty of great hitters look like Little Leaguers.

WAR Totals Before Searage: 2011: 0.7; 2012: -0.4

WAR Totals w/ Searage: 2013: 3.0; 2014: 1.6 2015: 2.6 *in progress

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• Used fastball as primary pitch and slider as secondary pitch before getting to Pittsburgh with mixed results.
  • Fastball in 2011, MLB hit: .305AVG/.430OBP/.433SLG/.863OPS/156wRC+
  • 2012: .390AVG/.491OBP/.674SLG/1.165OPS/220wRC+
• 2013, upon coming to Pittsburgh, used Slider as primary pitch and a 2-seem fastball as secondary with tremendous results.
• Slider in 2013, MLB hit: .146AVG/.224OBP/.211SLG/.435OPS/37wRC+
• 2014, Liriano used a slider/change-up combo to be exceptionally tough to hit.
  • Slider: .170AVG/.233OBP/.293SLG/.526OPS/59wRC+
  • Change-up: .173AVG/.233OBP/.228SLG/.461OPS/42wRC+

Next: The Vanimal

Vance Worley

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Vance Worley didn’t really have a great track record when he came to the Pirates midway through the 2014 season. He had a very solid rookie campaign with the Phillies, but outside of that, the results were very mixed. He was traded by the Phillies to the Twins and went through a terrible 2013 season, after which, he was quietly traded to the Pirates. That’s where the Pitching Wizard comes in.

Worley’s never had overpowering stuff, so the first thing he changed with the Pirates, was utilizing the two-seem fastball over the four-seem. He was instantly greeted with improved results. Batters had trouble catching up to the movement of the new pitch and it played much faster than it actually was.

Worley also added a knuckle-curve to his repertoire, which really made him an effective Big League pitcher. Couple that with a 90MPH on average fastball and you have a very solid one-two punch for the Vanimal.

WAR Totals before Searage: 2012: 0.9; 2013: -1.2.

WAR Totals w/Searage: 2014: 1.6; 2015: 0.2 *in progress

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• Used standard 4-seem fastball in Philadelphia and Minnesota with poor results.
  • 2012: .294AVG/.378OBP/.411SLG/.789OPS/128wRC+
  • 2013: .373AVG/.420OBP/.549SLG/.969OPS/183wRC+
• 2014: started using 2-seam fastball and knuckle-curveball with very improved results.
  • 2014 2-seam: .265AVG/.301OBP/.338SLG/.640OPS/90wRC+
  • 2014 knuckle-curve: .233AVG/.233OBP/.367SLG/.600OPS/71wRC+

Next: We love you, Uncle Ray!