Editor’s note: During February, The Athletic will highlight each member of the Black Aces, the 15 Black pitchers from either the United States or Canada to win 20 games in a Major League Baseball season. This series will conclude Feb. 28. Click here to read about the other members of the group.
Several chapters shaped David Price’s success as a 14-year Major League Baseball pro.
There’s the story of who he was on the mound. Price, who retired from MLB competition at the end of 2022, mastered the art of pitching as a 6-foot-5, 215-pound lefty who played chess with batters courtesy of two fastballs (two-seam and four-seam), a cutter, a changeup and a curveball. That variety was responsible for 2,076 career strikeouts and five seasons in which he recorded at least 200 strikeouts.
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His 2012 season featured 211 strikeouts, a 2.56 ERA and an American League Cy Young Award. Price finished 20-5 that year and became the newest member of the Black Aces. He is still the most recent player to join the elite group.
“He challenged batters with, ‘Let me give you my best stuff, and I have confidence that I can locate it or I put enough of a wrinkle on it that you’re going to not square it up,’” former big-league outfielder and MLB analyst Doug Glanville said. “I just remember the aggressiveness of David Price with the attack mode, pounding the (strike) zone, being in there and trusting that his movement, velocity and location would get him through. He had all those things.”
Sept. 30, 2012: David Price earns his 20th win of the season, becoming the 15th member of the “Black Aces,” an exclusive club of Black pitchers to win 20 or more games in a season. 👏 #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/ziK8XuHRMG
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) February 7, 2024
It’s one thing to throw a pitch by a batter, but Price also knew how to eat up innings. He led the league in innings pitched in 2014 (248 1/3) and 2016 (230).
Price was crafty on the mound, but there’s also the story of how he made it to the majors. There was a time when Price — once a 19th-round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2004 MLB Draft — considered walking away from baseball. He chose to attend Vanderbilt rather than sign a pro contract out of high school. Frustrated with his play at Vanderbilt in the early part of 2005, Price reportedly was ready to give up the game and work at McDonald’s.
A conversation with his college coach, Tim Corbin, kept Price’s mind on baseball and refocused on his confidence. That conversation not only led to an impressive college career — including the Dick Howser Trophy and the Brooks Wallace Award in 2007 — but also to Price getting selected by the Tampa Bay Rays as the No. 1 pick of the 2007 MLB Draft.
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“The reason he was quitting is because he no longer wanted to go to school,” Corbin said on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast last month. “He just wanted to work in fast food, and he wanted to drop everything.”
It was a decision that resulted in Price making millions while showing the sport his talent. In playing 14 years with five teams, he earned five All-Star appearances and won a World Series championship in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox. He also was named AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2018 after dealing with elbow injuries and being used as a spot starter and reliever the year before.
Price had an impact on the mound despite bouncing from four teams between 2014 and 2019. He won 15 games in 2014, splitting his time with the Rays and Detroit Tigers. He was part of a three-team deal that sent him to Detroit. The following year, he won 18 games, splitting his time with the Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. He was traded to Toronto for three minor-league pitchers. Price signed a seven-year, $217 million deal with the Red Sox in December 2015.
Price led the majors in starts three times (2011, 2014 and 2016) and innings pitched twice (2014 and 2016). He also led the AL in strikeouts with a career-high 271.
“I watched all his games, and I had respect for him because he was a pitcher,” longtime manager Dusty Baker said. “I say that with the utmost reverence because he was not a thrower; he was a pitcher.”
“First, you’re like, well, he’s throwing fastballs,” Glanville said. “Then, you saw the movement. You started seeing the finesse.”
In addition to his championship with Boston, Price received a World Series ring from the Dodgers after their 2020 win — despite not playing after choosing to sit out because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 4, 2020
Price’s combination of velocity, location and aggressiveness made him tough for batters to decipher. Additionally, part of what made Price frustrating for batters was his pace. It led to the “David Price rule,” which requires pitchers to declare whether they’re pitching from the set position or the full windup if a runner is on third base.
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“The pitch clock would have no impact on him. That never would have bothered him,” Glanville said. “He was rhythm, rhythm, attack, rhythm, just keep going. Give me the ball more quickly … that was his style.”
Price finished his career with the Dodgers in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was a spot starter and reliever in L.A., but by then, he’d already cemented his legacy as one of the best pitchers of his era.
For his career, Price won 157 games and compiled a 3.32 ERA. He also still holds the right to say he is the most recent member of the Black Aces.
It’s a great ending to the excellent story of a player who once decided against quitting the sport and went on to master the art of pitching.
“We just made a couple adjustments,” Corbin said of the talk with Price in college, “but it was the last time I ever had to talk to David Price about confidence again.”
(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; top photo: Jeff Gross / Getty Images)
