Own Disney's Million Dollar Arm on Blu-ray™ and Digital HD today!
Our friends at Disney wanted us to consider the occasion of releasing MILLION DOLLAR ARM to answer a question - Which pitcher on the Angels would you classify as their "Million Dollar Arm"?
Considering salaries, the Halos already have a few Million Dollar Arms, but one man who is working for league minimum comes to mind and should always exemplify the magic that propelled the 2014 Angels to the Division title: Matt Shoemaker.
When Garrett Richards went down, the team as a whole stepped it up but considering that Shoemaker was an afterthought on the roster, watching him down the stretch was quite a treat. Take out the Cobbler's contributions to the Halos and Oakland wins the division while Seattle plays the Royals in KC to see who travels to Baltimore from that Wild Card playoff.
While the WIN stat for Pitchers is terribly overvalued, it is still pretty awesome that Shoebacca's .800 winning percentage based on his 16-4 record lead the American League. His salary: $500,500 for 2014. yep, that's right, our million dollar arm was only paid a half million dollars.
He established three single season top ten records with his 2014 and besides that .800 winning percentage being tied for fifth best single season all time mark in team history, he had spots in two key rate stats that indicate he could be a key contributor for the club for many seasons to come. The Shoe's 1.58 Walks per 9 Innings Pitched tied him for fourth place on the single season list. The record is still held by Paul Byrd with 1.23 BB/IP in 2005.
A testament to his status as a great control pitcher, Shoebeard's 5.16 strikeout to Walk ratio in 2014 ranks as the second best mark by an Angels pitcher over a single season. Only Dan Haren's 5.81 K/BB ratio in 2011 was better.
Add in this a flawless postseason appearance on the mound after almost three weeks of rest with an oblique injury and you have our vote for Rookie of the Year - Matt Shoemaker, deserving of both great compensation from the team and adulation from any fan of the Angels, all for that million dollar arm.
Disney's Million Dollar Arm is available on Blu-ray™ and Digital HD today!