Anniversaries, Arms and Accolades

Today is the one year anniversary of my blog, and the 300th post. Baseball Almanac lists twenty four 300 game winners in baseball. The number denotes a special accomplishment in the game. It seems to be the measuring stick players aspire to attain. Especially in our era of stronger sluggers, smaller parks, fewer innings pitched and performance-enhancing drugs, winning 300 games is not easy. Managers often pull young hurlers from their starts after six or seven innings, no matter how stellar the performance. Games are being won by bullpens expected to play mop-up duty and keep games close until the offense erupts. The role of the relief pitcher has expanded throughout the generations of players who put on a uniform to play this grand game. It’s harder to win a ballgame as a starting because of the new baseball dynamics that focus on offense and late-inning relief. The complete game shutout is a rare act today.
A few of the 24 men in baseball’s 300 club played in the 1800’s. Pud Galvin, Tim Keefe, John Clarkson, Old Hoss Rodbourn, and Mickey Welch were models of consistency in their day. Galvin broke into the major leagues as a 22 year old right-hander with the Buffalo Bison. He won his 300th game as a member of the NL’s Pittsburgh Pirates in September, 1888. Keefe, also known as “Smiling Tim”, notched his 342nd game with the New York Giants against Boston. It was his final win of the 1890 season. Players back then only had to throw from 50 feet with dominance, but it is still quite an accomplishment to be placed on the historical list.
Cy Young leads all pitchers in wins, with 511. It’s doubtful his long-standing record will be broken anytime soon. Today, it takes two terrific tossers to trounce 500 wins between them. Young’s pitching effort was so fine, the league named an award after him. The name Cy Young is synonymous with pitching excellence. Young amassed more wins and innings pitched than any other player in history, and his record still stands in this century. Young pitched in 1892 when there were three leagues competing against each other. The quality of play was far better than most people acknowledge, making his mound work even more impressive. Cy was the toast of the town in Boston before the Red Sox even came into existence. Years later, in 1941, Boston would have another 300 game winner in Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove. The southpaw hit 300 on the dot the year he retired and finished the ’41 season with a 300-141 career record. The Hall-of-Famer hurler is considered one of the greatest ever.
A pair of Toms, Seaver and Glavine, are forever linked in baseball lore. Both threw for the New York Mets, but only Glavine earned win number 300 with the team. Seaver, a right-hander, was the first face of the Mets’ franchise. “Tom Terrific” played for four different teams, but is most remembered as the heart and soul of the Amazins. The National League Rookie of the Year in 1967 went on to win 311 contests by the time he hung up the cleats in 1985. Seaver’s exit from New York (after his second stint with the team) landed him with the Chicago White Sox and paved the way for Dwight Gooden to be in the Mets’ rotation. The characteristic Tom had a just as conventional windup. Glavine pitched his finest days as an Atlanta Brave before he was traded the New York. The lefty worked the count well and painted the corners with a mix of fastballs, curveballs and change-ups. Glavine was a polished post-season pitcher and his World Series stats border on staggering. The majestic hurler was just 4-3 in the Fall Classic but his ERA was 2.16.
Nolan Ryan didn’t take a long time to soar to stardom, and he will go down in baseball history as one of the greatest. I know he was the best pitcher I ever saw handle the mound. Number 34, The Express, played in a major league record 27 seasons and recorded pitches of over 100 mph even into his 40’s. As a ripe 19 year old kid, the rookie was signed by the New York Mets. Ryan went on to play for the Angels, Astros and Rangers, respectively. His 5,714 strikeouts rank first in baseball history and he is the all-time leader in no-hitters, with seven. The Hall-Of-Famer finished with 324 wins nineteen years ago. When it came to execution, no pitcher exemplified brilliance like Ryan.
Walter Johnson is second and Grover Alexander and Christy Mathewson are tied for third on baseball’s all-time wins list. Johnson has 417 wins and Alexander and Mathewson won 373. The great Warren Spahn trails them by 10 wins, with 363. Spahn was a gifted left-hander who pitched until he was 40 years old. He is an advertisement for greatness because he pitched all his 21 years in the National League, winning 20 games in thirteen big league seasons. Spahn won more games than any other southpaw, which created the award that bears his name to the game’s best lefty. The Buffalo, New York native, Spahn, was the ace of the pennant-winning Braves in 1948, 1957 and 1958.
Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton are also on the 300 game winner list, as are 1900’s star, Kid Nichols and knuckleballer, Phil Niekro. Randy Johnson is the newest addition to the club, and maybe the last we will see for a long time. Johnson won his 300th game last year. Gaylord Perry, Early Wynn, Eddie Plank and Philadelphia’s post-season hero, Steve Carlton, are also on the list. I hope the 300 club remains exclusive, but it would be special to see a few more modern-day players reach pitching prominence.

Parting Points: “Amor, no es amor, then what am I feeling? What am I doing wrong?”- Frankie J’s “Obsession”