Washington Nationals Dave Martinez Speaks Highly of His Veteran Starting Pitcher
When the Washington Nationals signed Patrick Corbin as a free agent ahead of the 2019 season, he was a talented, two-time All-Star who was coming off a season in which he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting.
A six-year, $140 million contract was agreed upon as there was a lot of optimism about what the future held. In Year one, he showed exactly why it was a great move.
He finished 11th in the Cy Young Award voting, going 14-7 over 33 starts and 202 innings, striking out 238 batters. In the postseason, he came up massive, pitching three shutout innings in relief of Max Scherzer out of the bullpen to help seal Game 7 over the Houston Astros in the World Series.
That was by far the highlight in Corbin’s tenure with the franchise. Since that point, there hasn’t been much to get excited about on the field.
2019 was the last time the Nationals made the postseason and the veteran lefty was a serviceable performer on the mound.
Since 2020, there isn’t a pitcher in baseball who has surrendered more hits or had more earned runs scored against them. He also leads all pitchers with 70 losses.
Despite that, manager Dave Martinez spoke very highly of his veteran pitcher. There is more to it than a player’s record.
“Forget about the wins and losses,” Martinez said via Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. “He went out there and competed and kept us in a lot of ballgames. I can go back and look at games where we made maybe an error behind him or didn't quite get the hits that we needed for him, but he never complained. He just kept going out there. Got to love it.”
While the production may not have been where Corbin or the team wanted it to be, he proved to be reliable. Every time it was his turn in the rotation, he would answer the call and give the team everything he had.
946.2 innings were pitched in six seasons in Washington. He made at least 30 starts in eight straight full seasons, not counting the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign when he made all 11 turns through the rotation.
That kind of reliability, despite challenges to perform up to his capabilities, is something the Nationals manager appreciated about Corbin.
“I’m really proud of him because there have been a lot of guys out there who have gone through what he went through and probably would have shut it down; he didn’t,” Martinez said. “Every five days, he took the ball and he was out there. I’m very proud of him, and whatever happens, I enjoyed my time with him. I know we’ll always stay close. His family’s amazing. I’m so happy that I was able to be a part of his career.”
Set to hit free agency, Corbin’s tenure in the nation’s capital is likely over. With so many young players ready to handle things in the starting rotation, his services may not longer be needed.
They will all benefit from playing alongside a veteran of his caliber. The last five years have been challenging, but Corbin will forever be remembered for the role he played in helping the team win a championship in 2019.
