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The Best Pittsburgh Pirates Seasons That Didn’t Make All-Star Games
By Noah Wright
Mark Melancon, 2014
The Pittsburgh Pirates also had another outstanding season that should have went to an All-Star Game in 2014, but didn’t. This time, it was relief pitcher Mark Melancon. The right hander wasn’t the Pirates’ closer to start with, but after Jason Grilli struggled and eventually traded in a trade that would eventually doom the Pirates’ 2014 season, Melancon took over the 9th inning role.
Melancon was still fantastic in the first half of 2014. His first 41.2 innings of 2014 saw him give up just 11 earned runs, two home runs, and six walks. He also had a sub-1 WHIP at 0.91. In total, he had a 2.38 ERA and 2.56 FIP with a 22.4% strikeout rate.
Melancon was even better in the second half, having a 1.23 ERA, 1.43 FIP and 0.82 WHIP. After his great second half, Melancon finished out the 2014 season with 71 innings under his belt, producing a 1.90 ERA, 2.09 FIP and 0.87 WHIP. He also struck out 71 batters, and his 25.6% strikeout rate is the highest of his career so far. Melancon only walked 4% of the batters he faced. His 57.4% ground ball rate helped Melancon post a strong 0.25 HR/9.