Goodbye, Patrick Corbin

In the final season of his 6-year $140 Million contract in DC, Patrick Corbin has disappointed once again. It is time to look back on his tenure before he toes the rubber one last time in a Nationals uniform. 

The backbone of every successful Washington Nationals ballclub has been the starting pitching. Of course, there was Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, but Mike Rizzo always made sure to have other workhorses to round out a successful rotation. 

Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Tanner Roark, and Anibal Sanchez all had successful runs in Washington, with Jordan Zimmermann pitching arguably one of the best playoff performances in Nationals history, often forgotten about due to a Drew Storen's blown save during the notorious 18 inning marathon loss. 

Every single one of those guys deserves to be in the conversation or better-starting pitchers during the 2010s, but outside of Anibal Sanchez, none of these guys got to contribute to the 2019 World Series run. 

After a disappointing 2018 season with only Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg signed for 2019, Rizzo targeted multiple starters in the off-season, signing Anibal Sanchez, and winning a bidding war against the Yankees and others for Patrick Corbin by adding the 6th year onto his contract. And then, almost immediately, magic happened. 

Coming off an All-Star season in 2018 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Corbin cashed in with a 6-year $140 million contract with the Washington Nationals, forming a three-headed monster that was the best rotation in the National League. 

In 6 seasons in Arizona, Corbin made 172 appearances for the lowly DBacks, compiling a 3.91 ERA and 897 strikeouts in 945 2/3 innings. Corbin was an All-Star in 2013 at only 23 years old, before missing a season and a half before underperforming in 2016, temporarily being shifted to the bullpen. He regained his pre-injury from 2017-2018, with a 3.58 ERA, 3.25 FIP, and 424 strikeouts in 389 2/3 innings. Corbin was at the top of his game and proved it in his first year in Washington. 

Reliable, a strikeout machine, and an athlete on the mound, all can be phrases to describe Patrick Corbin in 2019. He was fantastic, with a career-high ERA+ (138), finishing with a 3.25 ERA in 33 games started and 202 innings pitched, receiving the Warren Spahn Award for the best left-handed starting pitcher in the MLB. 

As good as his 2019 regular season was, Corbin cemented his Nationals legacy in the postseason, as the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series. 

Pitching out of the bullpen, Patrick Corbin entered in the bottom of the 6th inning as the Astros led 2-0. The vibes were low. Ace Max Scherzer battled and emptied the tank over 5 innings of 2 run ball, and the Nats bats had done nothing against Zack Greinke. With our backs against the wall, Corbin shut out a potent Astros offense, tossing 3 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts, allowing only 2 hits and 0 walks. After the Nats took a 6-2 lead entering the 9th inning, Daniel Hudson slammed the door, leading to a moment we will never forget.

Corbin entered the next season with high hopes, but he failed to put together a season even close to what he did in 2019. Over the last 5 seasons, Corbin has been one of the worst, if not the worst, pitchers in baseball. He also now has one of the worst, if not the worst, contracts in baseball, ironically only behind the now-retired Stephen Strasburg, and Angels third baseman and former Nationals hero Anthony Rendon.

In 136 starts from 2020-2024, Corbin has a 5.61 ERA, with a jaw-dropping 131 home runs allowed and 237 walks, with only 591 strikeouts in 739 1/3 innings. His strikeouts are down, his wipeout slider has vanished, the newer addition of a cutter provided no help, and he has been flat-out hard to watch. When planning to go, or even watch a Nationals game, it is hard not to make plans during a Patrick Corbin start. What went wrong you may ask? The analytics say everything, but one thing will always be clear: Corbin never complained, never made excuses, and always took the ball.

I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes at the end of my last paragraph. If it was not for his heroics in 2019, I would be right there with you. Corbin has been awful for five seasons now, being one of the many poster boys for the lowly rebuilding Nationals. He is overpaid, and every one of his starts seemingly ends in a blowout. 

Corbin’s time in DC, and maybe even the Major Leagues, is almost guaranteed to be coming to a close. Heading into his 137th start, and final, in a Nationals uniform, it is important to remember the good, before the bad. It is easy to say because I do not write the player's check, but 2019 alone earned him every penny of that 140 million-dollar contract. We unquestionably would not have won the World Series without him. Corbin will not be missed in DC, but will always be remembered for his heroics in 2019.