Perception is big in baseball. Perception can win you awards which later on can turn into a big pay day. In the case of pitchers, “wins” can really sway a person’s perception in a positive or negative way. We all know that a pitchers win total is in no way a true measure of his value, but to the majority of baseball fans and media…wins is still king.

Right here in the Bay Area we’ve seen that case with Edwin Jackson. 14 wins, YES! The guy has turned the corner, he is a stud, 14 WINS!!!!!! Luckily, we are smarter than that . Andrew Friedman is smarter than that and he sent Edwin “14 Wins” Jackson to Detroit at his peak value. But to most people Edwin Jackson and his 14 wins is just as valuable fellow 14 game winner James Shields. I mean come on, baseball is all about wins and losses and they had the same amount of wins.

A lot of people criticized Shields this post season because of the moniker “Big Game James.” What has James Shields done? How is he “Big Game James?” The guy has only 32 career wins. He is a good pitcher, but not that good. Turn on ESPN or go read a few other national media outlets and the perception is Scott Kazmir is the ace of the staff and Shields is a nice Robin to his Batman.

But what if Shields would’ve been a 20 game winner? Keep the peripherals the same and just give him a 20-8 record instead of 14-8 and what would his perception be? Probably a Cy Young winner. 

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