Kyle Gibson of Greenfield, Indiana is about to be pitching Major League Baseball in a much hotter climate. On Friday, Gibson decided to sign a three-year contract worth $28 million with the Texas Rangers according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
The average temperature in Arlington, Texas during the baseball season is 30.1 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the baseball season (where Gibson pitched before) is 21.7 degrees Celsius.
It will be interesting to see if climate change will help Gibson’s fastball. Normally pitchers prefer to throw in hotter temperatures because it is easier on their arm.
The Rangers become Gibson’s second Major League Baseball team after he spent his first seven seasons in Minnesota. Last year he pitched good enough in Minnesota’s starting rotation to reach double digits in wins. He had a record of 13 wins, seven losses. However his earned run average of 4.84, and WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.44 are rather high for a pitcher who is about to earn $9.333 million per season over the next three seasons.
One also has to wonder if Gibson recorded 13 wins because the Twins gave him a lot of run support. During the 2019 MLB regular season, the Twins gave Gibson 6.45 runs per game.
The Rangers currently have Gibson slated third in their starting rotation. He is behind Mike Minor and Lance Lynn and ahead of Kolby Allard and Brock Burke.
It will be interesting to see how much stronger the addition of Gibson will make Texas when it comes to generating victories. Texas finished in third place in the American League West with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.
