Best World Series FIGS: Where does Lee rank?
Inspired by Cliff Lee’s masterpiece in Game 1 of the World Series last night, we decided to see where the outing ranked among the great pitching performances of the Fall Classic. We tweaked* the formula for Fielding Independent Game Score, so here’s where Lee falls:
| Rk | Player | Date | G | Tm | Opp | IP | BF | BB | SO | HR | FIGS |
| 1 | Bob Gibson | 10/02/68 | 1 | STL | DET | 9 | 32 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 86 |
| 2 | Ed Walsh | 10/11/06 | 3 | CHW | @CHC | 9 | 30 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 78 |
| 3 | Randy Johnson | 10/28/01 | 2 | ARI | NYY | 9 | 30 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 76 |
| 4 | Cliff Lee | 10/28/09 | 1 | PHI | @NYY | 9 | 32 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 75 |
| 4 | Sandy Koufax | 10/11/65 | 5 | LAD | MIN | 9 | 29 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 75 |
| 6 | Howard Ehmke | 10/08/29 | 1 | PHA | @CHC | 9 | 36 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 74 |
| 6 | Bill Dinneen | 10/02/03 | 2 | BOS | PIT | 9 | 29 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 74 |
| 6 | Roger Clemens | 10/22/00 | 2 | NYY | NYM | 8 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 74 |
| 6 | Don Larsen | 10/08/56 | 5 | NYY | BRO | 9 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 74 |
| 10 | Tom Seaver | 10/16/73 | 3 | NYM | OAK | 8 | 32 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 73 |
| 10 | Pete Alexander | 10/03/26 | 2 | STL | @NYY | 9 | 31 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 73 |
| 10 | Rube Foster | 10/09/15 | 2 | BOS | @PHI | 9 | 30 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 73 |
| 13 | Eddie Plank | 10/16/11 | 2 | PHA | NYG | 9 | 31 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 72 |
| 14 | Deacon Phillippe | 10/01/03 | 1 | PIT | @BOS | 9 | 36 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 71 |
| 14 | Hod Eller | 10/06/19 | 5 | CIN | @CHW | 9 | 31 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 71 |
| 14 | Monte Pearson | 10/05/39 | 2 | NYY | CIN | 9 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 71 |
| 17 | Blue Moon Odom | 10/18/72 | 3 | OAK | CIN | 7 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 70 |
| 17 | Don Drysdale | 10/05/63 | 3 | LAD | NYY | 9 | 32 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 70 |
| 17 | George Earnshaw | 10/06/31 | 4 | PHA | STL | 9 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 70 |
| 17 | Chris Carpenter | 10/24/06 | 3 | STL | DET | 8 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 70 |
| 21 | Mort Cooper | 10/08/44 | 5 | STL | @SLB | 9 | 36 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 69 |
| 21 | Josh Beckett | 10/24/07 | 1 | BOS | COL | 7 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 69 |
| 21 | Brandon Backe | 10/26/05 | 4 | HOU | CHW | 7 | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 69 |
| 21 | Frank Viola | 10/25/87 | 7 | MIN | STL | 8 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 69 |
| 21 | Mike Boddicker | 10/12/83 | 2 | BAL | PHI | 9 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 69 |
According to pitching-independent stats, Lee’s performance ties Sandy Koufax’s 10-strikeout game in 1965 for fourth-best all-time — better even than Don Larsen’s perfecto. Talk about a double-whammy for Yankee fans.
*FIGS = 60+2*SO-3*BB-13*HR+Outs-BF. Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game, considered by many to be the most dominant performance of all-time, scores a 98. We’d also like to note that the great Carl Erskine’s record-setting 14-strikeout game in the 1953 series barely missed the top 20 above, with a 68 FIGS.