Craig Kimbrel is not one of those pitchers who says he never looks at his stat sheet until he’s sitting on his living room couch after the season is finished.
It’s not his job to point out how ridiculously good his 2017 numbers are, but he knows what those numbers show.
And those numbers are silly.
Kimbrel leads all major league pitchers with at least 25 innings in strikeouts per nine innings (17.05), WHIP (0.47), opponents’ batting average (.094) and OPS (.309). He’s second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.00) and fourth in ERA (1.07).
Beyond the numbers, the Red Sox closer knows the basic formula that’s generating such dominant stats — “Obviously I haven’t walked as many guys, that always helps,” he said — and he understands the calculus that underlies his better command.