THROWback Thursday: David Price

I figured for at least this Thursday and next (possibly more going into the future), it'd be fun to utilize Thursday as the day for looking at star pitchers who've been fantastic for several teams. While I want to eventually do guys like David Cone, Nolan Ryan, and especially Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson, I wanted to start with a more recent ace: David Price!

Price has pitched for four teams this decade, including a fun stretch in 2013-2016 where he put up a card for a different team every single year! So I'm giving you David Price's fun run through the American League, starting with his first team: Tampa Bay!

2012

This was the year of Price's lone Cy Young award, and he sure earned that award! Leading the majors in ERA, Price also led the way with 20 wins while pitching over 200 innings. With this card, you really get it all -- high control, high K/rate, and no doubles allowed in a Tier 2 chart. Unsurprisingly, Tampa won 90 games this year, in large part thanks to Price's contributions.

2014

However, in 2014 it became time for Tampa Bay to deal Price before his contract ended after the 2015 season.They sent him to Detroit, who was hoping to get over the hump and win the World Series. While they didn't succeed, Detroit won the AL Central (again) and the 2014 Tigers feature a fierce rotation of Cy Young winners: Scherzer, Verlander, Porcello and Price. Price led the majors in IP that season, earning the IP 8 card. Although he's a tier 3 card, Detroit Price's great K rate and longevity make him a very useful and fun card. Plus..... I love Detroit's secondary, orange-backed card for aesthetic purposes so, so much.

2015

As great as the 2012 Cy Young winning card is, 2015 was Price's best season and his best card. He led the majors in ERA again, this time with a 2.45 ERA, while going 9-1 after being traded to Toronto. The 2015 Blue Jays were the best team in the majors that year (from a Showdown perspective) despite not winning it all, and they're pitching is paced by this amazing Price card. He's the same tier as his 2012 TB card, trading one less control for one less baserunner allowed on his chart. However, while he gives up a bunch of singles, he gains an extra IP, allowing him the slight edge over his Cy Young card. Moreover, I think the Blue Jays cards look rad!!

2016

After that incredible run with Toronto, Price entered free agency and signed a $217 million dollar deal with Boston, still the highest contract ever for a pitcher. While Price was far from his dominate, tier 2 self in Boston, he managed to squeeze into Tier 3 while leading the entire majors in IP again, getting the crucial IP 8. That makes him a good card to have as a #3 starter, especially if you're not a fan of the David Cone-types with their 5 on at 16 cards for 450 points. Instead get more innings and more outs on your pitcher's chart for the same price (while getting your own chart just 10% less frequently). Definitely sad to see Price down from his glory days of 2012 and 2015, but if he opts out of his Boston deal, perhaps a new, non-Fenway environment will bring back Tier 2, Cy Young contending Price..... as well as give us another awesome looking card to make!