It was a big year for ex-Yankee pitchers. So, will we face another gut-punch October?

One playoff game in, and four days out from true October, it's time to figure out WTF happened in 2024 - statistically, anyway. 

For example, consider this: Nearly one fifth of the top 50 MLB starting pitchers who qualified for the ERA crown are current or former Yanks.  

Here they are, ranked:

9th Michael King, PADRES, 13-9, 2.95
16th Jameson Tallion, CUBS, 12-8, 3.27
32nd Jose Quintana, METS, 10-10, 3.75
33rd Nestor Cortes, YANKEES, 9-10, 3.77
34th Nathan Eovaldi, RANGERS, 12-8, 3.80
37th Sonny Gray, CARDS, 13-9, 3.84
39th Luis Severino, METS, 11-7, 3.91
40th Carlos Rodon, YANKEES, 16-9, 3.96
50th J.P. Sears, A's, 11-13, 4.38

Seven of the top 50 are ex-Yanks. They came and went, sometimes with Cooperstown Cashman getting little - (fukkit) - nothing in return.

Of course, the biggest fish - Michael King - went in the Juan Soto trade. We can lament King's breakout season in San Diego, but - at least for now - I'd still make that deal. (That might change next year, if King remains the Padres ace, and Soto is playing in Anaheim.)  It's not inconceivable that we someday rue the Soto deal as one of Cooperstown Cashman's worst. Scary, eh?

Then there's Taillon, Eovaldi, Gray and Severino, who represent a grand modern Yankee tradition of pitchers we gave up on, often a year too soon. Sometimes, the Yankees spin this narrative to suggest a player couldn't handle the stress of NYC - a comical claim when you consider the resumes of Eovaldi and Severino. In each case, the Yankees had a solid starter in the barn, and they let him go, generally, to save a few thin dimes.   

Quintana and Sears were lost as prospects. Quintana, who has had a solid career, was let go back in 2011. Sears disappeared in the disastrous trade for Frankie Montas (who, by the way, was 7-11, 4.84, with the Brewers this year.)   

Look... it's always painful to lament ex-Yankees, and no team is perfect in evaluating pitchers. The Yankees do have Gerrit Cole (3.41), Clarke Schmidt (2.85) and Luis Gil (3.50), none of whom threw enough innings to make the ERA qualifiers. In a way, that testifies to the organization's pitching depth. 

There's just one problem here, and I raise it in hopes of vaccinating us against an impending potential gut punch. 

Last year, we watched in full Babadook horror as Jordan Montgomery and Eovaldi pitched Texas to a world championship. Yesterday, we got to watch King and Severino lead their teams to game one victories. 

Get ready to measure the bridges, especially if the Mets or Padres reach the world series. It might just be another Hell October, watching the ones that got away.