Achieving 20 wins in a single season is considered a great feat for any major league pitcher due to the difficulty that this entails.
Throughout history, only four Mexicans have managed to put their name in this book of records. Here we tell you who it is:
Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles Dodgers, 1986)
Legendary “Toro” Valenzuela was the first Mexican pitcher to reach 20 wins in one season. He did so wearing the Dodgers jersey on September 22, 1986 when he faced the Houston Astros at the Astro Dome.
That night the “Toro de Etchohuaquila” launched the entire route allowing 2 hits, 2 runs (only one clean), granting 3 walks and prescribing 5 chocolates to pocket his 20th win of the season.
That season, Valenzuela’s numbers stood at a record 21 wins and 11 losses in 34 starts, striking out 242 with a 2.45 ERA in 269.1 innings of work.
Teodoro Higuera (Milwaukee Brewers, 1986)
At the time that Fernando shone with Chavez Ravine’s men, Sinaloan Teo Higuera had total dominance over the American League, the same team that then belonged to before being relocated in 1998.
A few days after “El Toro” achieved his feat, Higuera made him second and put his name in the record books.
Teodoro started the game for Brewers on September 25, 1986 when they hosted Baltimore at County Stadium, pitched the full route allowing 8 hits, 3 runs and prescribing 4 chocolates to win the game 9-3 on the scoreboard and pocket his 20th win of the league. Bell.
Teo finished that season with 20 wins and 11 losses in 34 starts, prescribing 207 chocolates and leaving his ERA at 2.49 in 248.1 innings of work.
Esteban Loaiza (Chicago White Sox, 2003)
After Valenzuela and Higuera, it took 17 years for a Mexican pitcher to have a 20-win season in one season.
On September 24, 2003, Esteban Loaiza opened the match that the White Sox won 9-4 against the Yankees at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Mexican pitched 6 innings where he allowed 5 hits, 3 runs and prescribed 7 chocolates to pocket his 20th win of the season.
That season, Loiaza was one of the best pitchers, finishing with a record of 21 wins and 9 losses in 34 starts, prescribing a total of 207 chocolates and posting a 2.90 ERA in 226.1 innings of work, being part of the top three of those. statistics.
Julio Urías (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2021)
Another 18 years had to pass for a Mexican countryman to match what the historical Valenzuela, Higuera and Loaiza had done. In his last outing of the season, on October 2, 2021, culichi Julio Urías reached the magical figure of 20 games won against Brewers.
In a quality outing, the Culiacán southpaw pitched 6.1 innings in which he received just one run from a hit and two walks. Along the way he struck out seven batters. With this performance, Urías finished the season as the leader of games won in the Major Leagues, being the first Mexican to do so.
His record for the season ended at 20-3 and he fell five strikeouts away from reaching 200 throughout the regular role. He showed great control all year by bringing his strikeout average to 5.13 in exchange for every walk delivered. (Seventh Entry).