You’d be forgiven for not knowing who John Means is or why anyone should care about him. He hasn’t pitched extensively since 2021, and his numbers prior to then don’t exactly jump off the page. He doesn’t throw especially hard or miss a ton of bats, and to the extent we saw him make it back from Tommy John surgery late last year, well … it wasn’t much to see.
But Means does two things in a way few pitchers do: He throws strikes, and he serves up fly balls. Together, those traits have made for a career 1.05 WHIP, which is the one number that does jump off the page. When he allows damage, it’s typically by way of home runs — a byproduct of his high fly-ball rate — but while in past years, that vulnerability was amplified by his home environment, you’re probably aware that Camden Yards has undergone some renovations since then. It’s much, much deeper in left field, which plays to the strengths of a left-handed fly-ball pitcher like Means. Fly balls that aren’t home runs are generally outs, so if what was a home run before is an out now, even better days could be ahead for him.
Just look what he did in his season debut Saturday, which wasn’t even in Baltimore but Cincinnati, home of the most homer-friendly park of all.
