Comparing Johan Santana and Roy Halladay

I was just recently on ESPN and read an article by Roy Neyer.

I decided to do a little bit of comparison and came up with this after the jump:

Johan Santana was asked who the best pitcher in the division is this year, and he just shrugged and answered in third person by saying, "Santana".

I respect his confidence but........

I was curious and decided to do a little research(nothing much)and share it with you guys because I am quite bored anyway.... It's a Thursday night.

Now the comparison:

Roy Halladay and Johan Santana have basically the same ERA over the last 2 seasons:

Halladay has a 2.78 ERA in 485 innings.
Santana has a 2.78 ERA in 401 innings.

Now the huge difference is that Halladay has pitched in the much stronger division with better hitters and pinch hitters.(Not having to face pitchers.)Halladay has pitched in the American League while Santana pitched in the National League.

Halladay's teams he pitched against in the American League East order is from
best teams to worst:
1. New York Yankees(As much as we hate them they are the top)
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles

As you can see, this division is arguably the best division in the MLB.
During the years an East Division Team has gone to play in the World Series 25 times, and 14 of those teams have hoisted the World Series Champion trophy.
Since the wild-card playoff berth has been introduced in the 1995 season:
An AL East team has sent a team at 11 out of 15 years.

Some Premier hitters that Halladay has faced:

1. Dustin Pedroia
2. Victor Martinez
3. Kevin Youkillis
4. Jason Bay
5. Derek Jeter
6. Johnny Damon
7. Alex Rodriguez
8. Hideki Matsui
9. Jorge Posada
10. B.J. Upton
11. Carl Crawford
12. Evan Longoria
13. Carlos Pena
14. Adam Jones
15. Brian Roberts

Roy Halladay's full stats from last year:
Team: Toronto Blue Jays
Games Pitched: 32
Games Started: 32
CG: 9
SHO: 4
IP: 239
H: 234
R: 82
ER: 74
HR: 22
BB: 35
SO: 208
Wins: 17   Loss: 10
ERA: 2.79
Last Year was Roy Halladay's 2nd or 3rd best year.
In 2005 he had a 2.41 ERA yet he only played 19 games.
In 2008 he had a 2.78 ERA and only played 34 games.

Johan Santana pitched in the NL East the past 2 years.
The teams he has pitched against(order from best to worst):
1. Philadelphia Phillies (Obviously and I'm not being biased)
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. Washington Nationals
So you can tell the difference already.

Johan Santana's full stats from 2008 (because that year he was much more healthier than this past season)-
Team: New York Mets
Games Pitched: 34
Games Started: 34
CG: 3
SHO: 2
IP: 234.1
H: 206
R: 74
ER: 66
HR: 23
BB: 63
SO: 206
Wins: 16   Loss: 7
ERA: 2.54
Very respectable. I admire Johan Santana as one of the most premier pitchers in baseball(probably in the top 10), yet I do not agree with his statement that he is the best pitcher in the NL East.

Some Nasty Hitters Johan has faced.( Mostly because of the Phils):

1. Jimmy Rollins
2. Shane Victorino
3. Chase Utley
4. Ryan Howard
5. Jayson Werth
6. Carlos Ruiz
7. Raul Ibanez
8. Chipper Jones
9. Brian McCann
10. Adam LaRoche
11. Yunel Escobar
12. Hanley Ramirez
13. Adam Dunn
14. Ryan Zimmerman

Spring Training has started!
We will see when the 2010-2011 season starts who is the best pitcher. 
Can't wait to see them face off against each other, personally I think Roy would win though.


Comment on below who you think is the best pitcher in the NL East and your thoughts on the upcoming season:
(Also poll below)

Roy Halladay stats source:http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=3973

Johan Santana stats source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4280