The cliché that baseball is a marathon rather than a sprint applies to the career and 2021 season of the 37-year-old Charlie Morton.
The former groundball specialist saw mixed results over his first nine seasons in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, with a 4.54 ERA and 1.87 K/BB ratio up to that point. Rarely do we see pitchers breakout in their mid-30’s, but after adding velocity, Morton has been a legitimate No. 2 starter since 2017, going 56-21 with a 3.40 ERA, 3.51 K/BB ratio, and dominant 10.6 K/9. His 2021 season in Atlanta has been a microcosm of the career trend.