The Decade’s Best: No. 12 Ben Crockett

Ben Crockett
Wareham 2000 & 2001
Pitcher
Harvard

I don’t know what’s more amazing: that Ben Crockett somehow went 1-6 in 2001 or that he averaged 70 strikeouts per season in a two-year Cape-League career.

For the purposes of this list, we’ll go with the strikeouts.

Crockett’s 1-6 record went along with a remarkably mismatched 1.67 ERA, one of the strangest statistical pairings you’ll ever see. But the strikeout numbers? Those are pretty rare, too.

And they’re the reason Crockett is here. He had 140 of them, and he’s the decade’s strikeout king.

Crockett, a Massachusetts native, came to the Cape as part of the Wareham-Harvard connection driven by John Wylde. Immediately, Crockett made a splash, going 5-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 2000. He helped lead the Gatemen to a playoff berth and he shared Cape League Pitcher of the Year honors with Chatham’s Dan Krines.

He was back in Wareham in 2001, when he put together that strangest of statistical lines. Despite striking out 74, walking just nine and allowing just 11 earned runs, Crockett somehow picked up just the one win.

Initially, as I looked at the numbers, I had Crockett a little lower on this list, primarily because of that 1-6 mark. But when you realize that it’s an anomaly and a case of amazingly hard luck, you can start letting the rest of the numbers do the talking.

And they’re loud. In addition to the overwhelming strikeout numbers, Crockett also shined in the playoss. In game one of the 2001 West finals, Crockett pitched 7.2 shutout innings and struck out nine in a win over Bourne. He struck out seven in five innings in the decisive game of the championship series, which Wareham went on to win.

After the Cape

Crockett was drafted by the Rockies in the third round of the 2002 draft. He made it as far as Triple A before hanging it up. He has stayed in baseball, though, and is currently the Boston Red Sox’ Assistant Director for Player Development.

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