By Zane Miller
In the 13-season long history of the Great Lakes Loons, the team has gone 1 for 1 in championship finals appearances, to go along with making seven postseason appearances in total. As of this writing, Great Lakes’ best regular season record came in 2010 at 90-49, while their worst came in 2008 at 54-85. These are the top five single seasons by starting pitchers that I felt have stood out the most during the team history of the Loons.
In total, the team has won one championship, coming in 2016.
5. Geoff Brown (2013)
The 696th overall pick of the 2007 draft out of Washington by the Kansas City Royals earned a 12-1 record during the 2013 season with the Loons, pitching 78 innings allowing four home runs, 18 earned runs and 59 hits, getting a 2.08 ERA. Great Lakes claimed a 67-72 record to qualify for the 2013 playoffs despite their losing record, being eliminated in the first round by the South Bend Silver Hawks.
4. Garrett Gould (2011)
The 65th overall pick of the 2009 draft out of Maize High School in Kansas by the Los Angeles Dodgers took an 11-6 record in 2011 with the Loons, going 123 and two-thirds innings while allowing just eight home runs, 33 earned runs and 102 hits for a 2.40 ERA. However, Great Lakes went 72-67 on the year, missing the 2011 playoffs.
3. Jose Chacin (2019)
Chacin scored an 11-8 record in 2019 with the Loons, pitching 127 innings with nine home runs, 66 earned runs and 147 hits given up to get a 4.68 ERA. Great Lakes earned a record of 81-55 to reach the 2019 playoffs, beating the Lake County Captains two games to one in the first round, before losing to the South Bend Cubs two games to none in the second round.
2. Allen Webster (2010)
The 547th overall pick of the 2008 draft out of McMichael High School in North Carolina by the Dodgers picked up a 12-9 record in 2010 with the Loons, pitching 131.1 innings with only six home runs, 42 earned runs and 119 hits allowed for a 2.88 ERA. Great Lakes claimed their best regular season record as of this writing at 90-49 to make the 2010 playoffs, but lost to the Fort Wayne TinCaps two games to one in the first round. Webster would make his major league debut in 2013 with the Boston Red Sox.
1. Jon Michael Redding (2009)
The 157th overall pick of the 2008 draft out of Florida State College at Jacksonville by the Dodgers took an impressive 16-3 record in 2009 with the Loons, going 133 innings and giving up just nine home runs, 68 earned runs and 149 hits for a 4.60 ERA. Great Lakes finished at 81-59 to qualify for the 2009 playoffs, defeating the West Michigan Whitecaps two games to one, before losing to the Fort Wayne TinCaps two games to one in the second round.
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