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Stats Prove Madison Bumgarner Has Basically Become Eduardo Rodriguez

By Justin Morris

Bumgarner tips his cap to Giants fans as he walks off the field vs. the Dodgers.
Bumgarner tips his cap to Giants fans as he walks off the field vs. the Dodgers. / Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

When it comes to most fan rankings of the MLB's most dominant left-handers in recent memory, Madison Bumgarner's name is usually near the top of said list. He built an immovable reputation for himself while becoming a fixture in the Giants' World Series runs in the beginning of the decade, as they won three championships from 2010-2014.

In '14, he set a Series record for the lowest ERA (0.43) that has yet to be eclipsed, netting him not only the MVP of that Series, but Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year and the AP Male Athlete of the Year.

A closer examination of his statistics from recent years, though, reveals quite a different tale, and a significant decline from the overwhelming force that fans had enjoyed at then AT&T Park for years.

MadBum made four consecutive All-Star appearances from 2013-16, and was a consistent fixture among the league leaders for strikeouts and batters faced for years, earning himself multiple top-five finishes in the Cy Young award race during that period.

Over the last two seasons, Bumgarner's posted a losing record of 15-16, and had the worst ERA of his career in 2019, at 3.90. He didn't fall short in the strikeouts category, as he had over 200, but did so while giving up some of the highest opposing hits and home run numbers of his tenure in San Fransisco as well.

To put that into perspective, his stats are comparable to Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who has never been listed higher than third on the Sox rotational depth chart. Rodriguez posted a much better winning percentage than Bumgarner over the two-year period, going 32-11, but sports an ERA near four, and has given up nearly identical numbers in terms of walks and hits against.

Rodriguez did receive six Cy Young votes in 2019 after enjoying a 19-6 record, and striking out 213 batters, but marks a definite step-down for Bumgarner.

As for MadBum, he's now donning new digs in Arizona -- he just recently inked a five-year, $85 million deal with the Diamondbacks. He's projected by Baseball Reference to go 8-9 with a 3.94 ERA in his first year with the new ball-club.