What is the difference between an ace and a #1?

clemens u fules

as to the question itself i'd call an ace a post-facto designation of someone who was on a Hof Trajectory at some point for a number of years TBD + a dose of baseball metaphysics. based on that it makes sense that there are only like, 3 aces in the league at any given point. Santana was an ace for a while, so was kevin brown. # 1 is just the best pitcher on a given staff. who is the # 1 on the a's idk

Paul Blackburn had a sub-4 FIP last year

i was thinking about Blake Snell and how he's had two great seasons and won two Cy Young awards, but unlike every other multiple Cy guy, he's not someone i think of as an ace. feels like he's always on the edge of tipping over into another high ERA season of relative ineffectiveness.

It’s weird isn’t it, you don’t win two accidentally but he feels flukey especially with his lack of innings in most seasons

wasn’t paying attention to his usage in san diego, but tbf the rays simply wouldn’t let him pitch more. set down 18 straight and they’ll still pull you to avoid the dreaded third-time-through-the-order curse

as sheehan says, this is how it is now — snell just got there first bc rays

aces are less interested in sex, although it doesn't mean they don't _have_ sex - that's a common misconception.