Before I begin my rant, I'm going to make a major assumption: The saber-metric geniuses who devised the formula for estimating a player's true value in wins created - Wins Above Replacement (WAR) - should be trusted. After all, according to WAR, players like Ruth, Williams, Mays and Mantle were usually at or near the top of the Wins Above Replacement heap, year in and year out - right where they belong.
WAR cuts through all the useless misinformation with one simple number that can be used to determine the best overall player in baseball - or, in the case of Cy Young Award voting - the best pitcher. Quite often, the best pitcher also happens to be the best overall player. Something voters tend to ignore when deciding Most Valuable Player Awards.
Much to my surprise, the pitcher with the highest WAR failed to win the Cy Young Award for the first seven years of its existence (1956 - '62). As a matter of fact, the pitcher who deserved the award wasn't even on the ballot the first six years! Chances are, they never even knew they deserved the award - but if they're still alive, maybe they'll find out through word of mouth. If you happen to run into them, congratulate them for me - although they still won't get the plaque. This is merely an unofficial adjustment, for the sake of Wins Above Replacement authenticity.
PART ONE - Revising CYA History - The Early Years (1956 - 1975)
Of course, over a half-century ago, nobody knew anything about WAR. Cy Young Award voters favored the pitchers from teams that won a pennant (or finished the regular season in a first-place tie), as long as they won 20 games. ERA didn't seem very important - just wins, and getting into the World Series. This process excluded the pitchers who actually had better seasons, but flew under the radar, with deceivingly mediocre won-loss records - playing on mediocre teams that didn't win. But it wasn't their fault - as their WAR numbers suggest.
Year - CYA Winner vs The Best Pitcher
1956 - Don Newcombe (4.5) - Early Wynn (7.8)
1957 - Warren Spahn (4.7) - Don Drysdale (6.1)
1958 - Bob Turley (3.6) - Frank Lary (6.7)
1959 - Early Wynn (2.8) - Larry Jackson (7.2)
1960 - Vernon Law (4.2) - Ernie Broglio (7.2)
1961 - Whitey Ford (3.8) - Don Cardwell (6.1)
1962 - Don Drysdale (5.3) - Bob Purkey (7.3)
1963 - Sandy Koufax (10.7)
1964 - Dean Chance (9.3)
1965 - Sandy Koufax (8.1)
1966 - Sandy Koufax (10.3)
1967 (AL) - Jim Lonborg (4.1) - Jim Merritt (6.4)
1967 (NL) - Mike McCormick (4.4) - Jim Bunning (7.8)
1968 (AL) - Denny McClain (7.4) - Luis Tiant (7.8)
1968 (NL) - Bob Gibson (11.9)
1969 (AL) - Tie: Mike Cuellar (4.5) and Denny McClain (8.2) - Just McClain (8.2)
1969 (NL) - Tom Seaver (7.2) - Bob Gibson (11.3)
1970 (AL) - Jim Perry (3.8) - Sam McDowell (8.3)
1970 (NL) - Bob Gibson (8.9)
1971 (AL) - Vida Blue (9.0) - Wilbur Wood (11.7)
1971 (NL) - Fergie Jenkins (10.3)
1972 (AL) - Gaylord Perry (11.0)
1972 (NL) - Steve Carlton (12.1)
1973 (AL) - Jim Palmer (6.3) - Bert Blyleven (9.9)
1973 (NL) - Tom Seaver (10.6)
1974 (AL) - Catfish Hunter (6.9) - Gaylord Perry (8.6)
1974 (NL) - Mike Marshall (3.1)* - Phil Niekro (7.8)
(*Marshall had the distinction of being the first erroneously selected CYA winner who was a relief specialist. Others would follow in years to come - all mistakes.)
1975 (AL) - Jim Palmer (8.4)
1975 (NL) - Tom Seaver (7.8)
Imagine that. Jim Merritt and Luis Tiant over Jim Lonborg and Denny McClain in '67 and '68. Or Wilbur Wood over Vida Blue - who made the cover of Time Magazine in 1971!
Believe it.
Up next: PART TWO - Revising CYA History - (1976 - 1985) - 5 Out of 20 Correct CYA Winners!
Showing posts with label tom seaver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tom seaver. Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
May 31, 1968 - Jaster Flirts With Perfection
Friday, May 31, 1968 - At Shea Stadium, a nice crowd of 41,075 amazin' fans was in the house for the first game of a four-game series, hoping to see their boy - Tom Seaver - deliver a rare win over the St Louis Cardinals.
Southpaw Larry Jaster - the notorious Dodger killer - got the start for St Louis, and was dominant from the outset, handling the Mets' lineup with such ease, longtime St Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg was overheard joking to a colleague, "Geez, I wonder if Jaster thinks these guys are the Dodgers?" As a rookie, two seasons prior, Jaster started five games against the defending World Champions and shut them out five times. In that same season against the rest of the league, he was 6-5 with an ERA of 4.66. Go figure.
Granted, the Mets' lineup on this particular night wouldn't evoke memories of Murderer's Row, but they were still major league hitters, technically; and just one year away from winning an improbable World Series showdown with the Baltimore Orioles. Proof that anything can happen in baseball.
Don Bosch CF
Cleon Jones LF
Ron Swoboda RF
Jerry Grote C
Ed Charles 3B
Greg Goosen 1B
Phil Linz 2B
Al Weis SS
Tom Seaver P
The Cardinals got to Seaver the second time through the batting order, in the third-inning, when Lou Brock led off with a slicing triple down the left field line, followed by Curt Flood's single to right, scoring Brock. After Roger Maris and Orlando Cepeda were retired on fly balls to left field, Seaver uncorked a wild pitch with Tim McCarver batting, moving Flood up to second base. With Mike Shannon on deck, Seaver elected to walk McCarver intentionally, but the strategy backfired when Shannon delivered a run-scoring single.
That was it for the Redbirds. Seaver allowed nine hits and three walks in his nine innings of work - but just those two runs. He also struck out eight.
In the meantime, Jaster struck out seven in his first five innings of work. Most importantly, he hadn't allowed a base runner. In the sixth-inning, he once again set the Mets down in order, but failed to record a whiff for the first time in the game. He was tiring, but still keeping the Mets' hitters off balance; unable to make solid contact with any of his pitches. Three up, three down in the seventh. By now, the crowd was stirring with every out the St Louis pitcher was recording. After retiring the first two batters in the eighth-inning - Grote on a ground out to short - Charles on a foul pop up to third baseman Shannon - part-time first baseman/catcher/pinch hitter Greg Goosen lined a single to left field, breaking up the perfecto.
Goosen would appear in just 38 games all season, but manager Gil Hodges decided to give the left-handed swinging Ed Kranepool the night off. Ironically, Goosen, who hit a paltry .208 in '68, was lost in the expansion draft to the Seattle Pilots prior to the '69 season, missing out on being a part of a World Series champion. However, in 52 games with Seattle, Goosen (.309/.385/.597) displayed a keen batting eye with nice power, hitting ten home runs. Go figure.
Phil Linz ended the eighth-inning threat by flying out to Curt Flood in center.
The perfect game was over, but Sadecki still had a rare (one-hit) shutout going against a team not called "the Dodgers". The first batter in the bottom of the ninth, Al Weiss, was retired on a fly ball to center. Pinch hitting for Seaver (2-5 after this loss) - Jerry Buchek flew out to Brock in left. Then, Don Bosch, another part-time player getting a rare start for the Mets, lined a single to left, for the second hit of the game. Moments later, Bosch was forced out at second, on a Cleon Jones' grounder to Dal Maxvill to end it.
Jaster (3-2) had lowered his ERA to 0.95 after this performance, but his career had already reached its peak. He would finish with a disappointing 9-13 record with a high (for the times) 3.51 ERA. He would then be claimed by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft, posting a 1-6 record to go with a 5.49 ERA. Then off to Atlanta for part-time duty for a couple of seasons, before finally ending his major league career at the tender age of 28.
The third-place Cardinals (24-21) would go on to sweep the Mets in the four-game series, then roll into Houston to sweep the Astros in four straight to claim sole possession of first place - a lead they would never relinquish.
Southpaw Larry Jaster - the notorious Dodger killer - got the start for St Louis, and was dominant from the outset, handling the Mets' lineup with such ease, longtime St Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg was overheard joking to a colleague, "Geez, I wonder if Jaster thinks these guys are the Dodgers?" As a rookie, two seasons prior, Jaster started five games against the defending World Champions and shut them out five times. In that same season against the rest of the league, he was 6-5 with an ERA of 4.66. Go figure.
Granted, the Mets' lineup on this particular night wouldn't evoke memories of Murderer's Row, but they were still major league hitters, technically; and just one year away from winning an improbable World Series showdown with the Baltimore Orioles. Proof that anything can happen in baseball.
Don Bosch CF
Cleon Jones LF
Ron Swoboda RF
Jerry Grote C
Ed Charles 3B
Greg Goosen 1B
Phil Linz 2B
Al Weis SS
Tom Seaver P
The Cardinals got to Seaver the second time through the batting order, in the third-inning, when Lou Brock led off with a slicing triple down the left field line, followed by Curt Flood's single to right, scoring Brock. After Roger Maris and Orlando Cepeda were retired on fly balls to left field, Seaver uncorked a wild pitch with Tim McCarver batting, moving Flood up to second base. With Mike Shannon on deck, Seaver elected to walk McCarver intentionally, but the strategy backfired when Shannon delivered a run-scoring single.
That was it for the Redbirds. Seaver allowed nine hits and three walks in his nine innings of work - but just those two runs. He also struck out eight.
In the meantime, Jaster struck out seven in his first five innings of work. Most importantly, he hadn't allowed a base runner. In the sixth-inning, he once again set the Mets down in order, but failed to record a whiff for the first time in the game. He was tiring, but still keeping the Mets' hitters off balance; unable to make solid contact with any of his pitches. Three up, three down in the seventh. By now, the crowd was stirring with every out the St Louis pitcher was recording. After retiring the first two batters in the eighth-inning - Grote on a ground out to short - Charles on a foul pop up to third baseman Shannon - part-time first baseman/catcher/pinch hitter Greg Goosen lined a single to left field, breaking up the perfecto.
Goosen would appear in just 38 games all season, but manager Gil Hodges decided to give the left-handed swinging Ed Kranepool the night off. Ironically, Goosen, who hit a paltry .208 in '68, was lost in the expansion draft to the Seattle Pilots prior to the '69 season, missing out on being a part of a World Series champion. However, in 52 games with Seattle, Goosen (.309/.385/.597) displayed a keen batting eye with nice power, hitting ten home runs. Go figure.
Phil Linz ended the eighth-inning threat by flying out to Curt Flood in center.
The perfect game was over, but Sadecki still had a rare (one-hit) shutout going against a team not called "the Dodgers". The first batter in the bottom of the ninth, Al Weiss, was retired on a fly ball to center. Pinch hitting for Seaver (2-5 after this loss) - Jerry Buchek flew out to Brock in left. Then, Don Bosch, another part-time player getting a rare start for the Mets, lined a single to left, for the second hit of the game. Moments later, Bosch was forced out at second, on a Cleon Jones' grounder to Dal Maxvill to end it.
Jaster (3-2) had lowered his ERA to 0.95 after this performance, but his career had already reached its peak. He would finish with a disappointing 9-13 record with a high (for the times) 3.51 ERA. He would then be claimed by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft, posting a 1-6 record to go with a 5.49 ERA. Then off to Atlanta for part-time duty for a couple of seasons, before finally ending his major league career at the tender age of 28.
The third-place Cardinals (24-21) would go on to sweep the Mets in the four-game series, then roll into Houston to sweep the Astros in four straight to claim sole possession of first place - a lead they would never relinquish.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
May 6, 1968 - May 7, 1965 - May 8, 1967 - 2 Classic Gibson Gems & A Wild Extra-Inning Nail Biter
May 6, 1968 - A Monday night game between the St Louis Cardinals and New York Mets drew a scant crowd of 12,741 at Busch Stadium II to witness a classic pitching match-up between the young phenom, Tom Seaver and the two-time World Series MVP, Bob Gibson. This one would take 11 innings to settle, as both pitchers - naturally - went the distance.
Seaver was dominant from the outset, but a second-inning fielding miscue by first baseman Ed Kranepool ultimately cost Tom Terrific a chance to win this game in regulation. The inning started with Tim McCarver stroking a single to right field. Kranepool then booted Mike Shannon's potential double-play grounder which quickly had Seaver in a two-on-no-out jam. McCarver then scored from second base on Julian Javier's single to right field, as Shannon moved up to third. Still nobody out.
With the infield playing in, Dick Schofield hit a sharp grounder to third, forcing Shannon to stay put. The throw to second base forced Javier, but the relay to first was too late to retire Schofield. The next hitter, Bob Gibson was unable to catch up to Seaver's fastball and went down on strikes. Gibson, who was 0 for 4 in the game struck out three times; however, he one-upped the youngster by taking care of Seaver (also 0 for 4) with four strikeouts of his own. After Lou Brock was retired on a fly ball to center field, the damage was limited to one unearned run.
The Mets tied the game in the fourth-inning with three straight singles by Harrelson, Boswell and Shamsky - the only hits Gibson would allow in the entire game. With Ron Swoboda at bat, McCarver couldn't handle a Gibson slider, allowing the runners to move up to second and third on the passed ball. Still nobody out.
The key defensive play of the game occurred when Swoboda's fly to medium center field was flagged down by Curt Flood, who then turned it into a double play, as Boswell tagged up from third but couldn't beat the perfect throw to McCarver at the plate. The next hitter, Ed Kranepool tried to atone for his second-inning error which allowed St Louis to score their lone run; but Cards' first baseman Orlando Cepeda was able to handle a tough hop, then flipped to Gibson, who was covering first, for the out. The game was tied, but Gibson, like Seaver, had escaped a major threat to put more runs on the board. Runs were certainly at a premium in this game - and the entire '68 season, for that matter.
Both pitchers kept putting zeros on the scoreboard, until Seaver finally faltered in the eleventh-inning, yielding a lead-off triple to Lou Brock - one of a league-leading 14 three-baggers Lou would hit that year. With Brock now perched just 90 feet away from scoring the winning run, intentional passes to Flood and Maris loaded the bases with nobody out; hoping for a miracle pitcher-to-catcher-to first double play; or something along those lines. Orlando Cepeda quickly foiled that strategy with a base hit to right field to give St Louis a 2-1 win.
The pitching lines tell the (complete game) story:
Seaver (L 1-2) 10 IP - 6 H - 2 R - 1 ER - 3 BB - 6 SO (His ERA for the season dropped to 1.56)
Gibson (W 3-1) 11 IP - 3 H - 1 R - 1 ER - 1 BB - 11 SO (His ERA for the season dropped to 1.31 - it would drop even further - down to 1.12 by season's end)
This was a game for the ages, masterfully performed by two future first-ballot Hall of Famers - who had a burning passion to not only win, but complete each game they started, no matter how long; no matter how many pitches they threw. Pitch counts? Bah! In 1968, in only his second MLB season, Seaver completed 14 out of 35 games started - an unheard of feat nowadays, when starting pitchers are programmed to go seven or eight innings, max.
Gibson was even more dominant, completing 28 out of 34 starts, featuring a league-leading 13 shutouts, 268 strikeouts and the aforementioned 1.12 ERA. By comparison, the Detroit Tigers' reigning AL Cy Young Award winner - Max Scherzer - has never thrown a complete game shutout in his entire career. Gibson did it 56 times.
May 7, 1965 - Bob Gibson was on the mound for the Cardinals as they traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies at decrepit Connie Mack Stadium, with a paid crowd of 14,499 mostly disgruntled fans on hand to jeer their Phillies on to defeat.
On the bump for Philadelphia was southpaw Chris Short; in his prime and in the middle of a six season stretch ('63 - '68) when he posted an ERA under 3 five times. Strangely enough, the only season he was able to win 20 games ('66) happened to coincide with his highest ERA (3.54) over that six year stretch. Go figure.
In this game, Short pitched well enough to win (8 IP - 8 H - 2 R - 4 BB - 4 S0), but it was too much Lou Brock (4 for 5 - 1 R - 1 RBI - 1 SB) who was the catalyst of a two-run sixth-inning for St Louis; and it was way too much Bob Gibson, who pitched a one-hit shutout (3 BB - 8 SO) to earn his fifth win without a loss. At the time, those five wins represented 50% of the total for the entire staff (10 wins - 10 losses); not a good sign for the defending World Champions. Gibson would go on to win 20 games for the first time in his career, but nobody else managed more than 11 wins on a team that seemed to age overnight.
May 8, 1967 - With a sparse gathering of 5,388 at venerable Forbes Field, the Cardinals had a see-saw battle with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Redbirds barely hung on to win in ten-innings, 6-5.
Ray Washburn started this one for the Cardinals (6.2 IP - 8 H - 3 R - 0 BB - 3 SO); then over the next 3.1 innings a total of five St Louis relievers were used to finally nail this one down. The Pirates used five different pitchers in this game - Pizarro, Face, Short, McBean and Law (who took the loss with that one really bad inning). Ron Willis got the win for St Louis, although he only worked one inning and was charged with two runs (he walked two).
Here's how the scoring went: The Pirates scored 2 runs in the 4th - The Cardinals tied it with 2 runs in the 6th - The Pirates grabbed a 3-2 lead in the 7th - The Cardinals tied it again with a run in the 9th - The Cardinals seemingly put the game out of reach with 3 runs in the 11th - The Pirates scored 2 in the 11th, so in fact, the game was out of reach. Had 'em all the way.
Mike Shannon and Tim McCarver each had two RBI; Curt Flood and Orlando Cepeda each chipped in with one apiece, as the St Louis lineup had twelve hits and six walks in the contest.
Seaver was dominant from the outset, but a second-inning fielding miscue by first baseman Ed Kranepool ultimately cost Tom Terrific a chance to win this game in regulation. The inning started with Tim McCarver stroking a single to right field. Kranepool then booted Mike Shannon's potential double-play grounder which quickly had Seaver in a two-on-no-out jam. McCarver then scored from second base on Julian Javier's single to right field, as Shannon moved up to third. Still nobody out.
With the infield playing in, Dick Schofield hit a sharp grounder to third, forcing Shannon to stay put. The throw to second base forced Javier, but the relay to first was too late to retire Schofield. The next hitter, Bob Gibson was unable to catch up to Seaver's fastball and went down on strikes. Gibson, who was 0 for 4 in the game struck out three times; however, he one-upped the youngster by taking care of Seaver (also 0 for 4) with four strikeouts of his own. After Lou Brock was retired on a fly ball to center field, the damage was limited to one unearned run.
The Mets tied the game in the fourth-inning with three straight singles by Harrelson, Boswell and Shamsky - the only hits Gibson would allow in the entire game. With Ron Swoboda at bat, McCarver couldn't handle a Gibson slider, allowing the runners to move up to second and third on the passed ball. Still nobody out.
The key defensive play of the game occurred when Swoboda's fly to medium center field was flagged down by Curt Flood, who then turned it into a double play, as Boswell tagged up from third but couldn't beat the perfect throw to McCarver at the plate. The next hitter, Ed Kranepool tried to atone for his second-inning error which allowed St Louis to score their lone run; but Cards' first baseman Orlando Cepeda was able to handle a tough hop, then flipped to Gibson, who was covering first, for the out. The game was tied, but Gibson, like Seaver, had escaped a major threat to put more runs on the board. Runs were certainly at a premium in this game - and the entire '68 season, for that matter.
Both pitchers kept putting zeros on the scoreboard, until Seaver finally faltered in the eleventh-inning, yielding a lead-off triple to Lou Brock - one of a league-leading 14 three-baggers Lou would hit that year. With Brock now perched just 90 feet away from scoring the winning run, intentional passes to Flood and Maris loaded the bases with nobody out; hoping for a miracle pitcher-to-catcher-to first double play; or something along those lines. Orlando Cepeda quickly foiled that strategy with a base hit to right field to give St Louis a 2-1 win.
The pitching lines tell the (complete game) story:
Seaver (L 1-2) 10 IP - 6 H - 2 R - 1 ER - 3 BB - 6 SO (His ERA for the season dropped to 1.56)
Gibson (W 3-1) 11 IP - 3 H - 1 R - 1 ER - 1 BB - 11 SO (His ERA for the season dropped to 1.31 - it would drop even further - down to 1.12 by season's end)
This was a game for the ages, masterfully performed by two future first-ballot Hall of Famers - who had a burning passion to not only win, but complete each game they started, no matter how long; no matter how many pitches they threw. Pitch counts? Bah! In 1968, in only his second MLB season, Seaver completed 14 out of 35 games started - an unheard of feat nowadays, when starting pitchers are programmed to go seven or eight innings, max.
Gibson was even more dominant, completing 28 out of 34 starts, featuring a league-leading 13 shutouts, 268 strikeouts and the aforementioned 1.12 ERA. By comparison, the Detroit Tigers' reigning AL Cy Young Award winner - Max Scherzer - has never thrown a complete game shutout in his entire career. Gibson did it 56 times.
May 7, 1965 - Bob Gibson was on the mound for the Cardinals as they traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies at decrepit Connie Mack Stadium, with a paid crowd of 14,499 mostly disgruntled fans on hand to jeer their Phillies on to defeat.
On the bump for Philadelphia was southpaw Chris Short; in his prime and in the middle of a six season stretch ('63 - '68) when he posted an ERA under 3 five times. Strangely enough, the only season he was able to win 20 games ('66) happened to coincide with his highest ERA (3.54) over that six year stretch. Go figure.
In this game, Short pitched well enough to win (8 IP - 8 H - 2 R - 4 BB - 4 S0), but it was too much Lou Brock (4 for 5 - 1 R - 1 RBI - 1 SB) who was the catalyst of a two-run sixth-inning for St Louis; and it was way too much Bob Gibson, who pitched a one-hit shutout (3 BB - 8 SO) to earn his fifth win without a loss. At the time, those five wins represented 50% of the total for the entire staff (10 wins - 10 losses); not a good sign for the defending World Champions. Gibson would go on to win 20 games for the first time in his career, but nobody else managed more than 11 wins on a team that seemed to age overnight.
May 8, 1967 - With a sparse gathering of 5,388 at venerable Forbes Field, the Cardinals had a see-saw battle with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Redbirds barely hung on to win in ten-innings, 6-5.
Ray Washburn started this one for the Cardinals (6.2 IP - 8 H - 3 R - 0 BB - 3 SO); then over the next 3.1 innings a total of five St Louis relievers were used to finally nail this one down. The Pirates used five different pitchers in this game - Pizarro, Face, Short, McBean and Law (who took the loss with that one really bad inning). Ron Willis got the win for St Louis, although he only worked one inning and was charged with two runs (he walked two).
Here's how the scoring went: The Pirates scored 2 runs in the 4th - The Cardinals tied it with 2 runs in the 6th - The Pirates grabbed a 3-2 lead in the 7th - The Cardinals tied it again with a run in the 9th - The Cardinals seemingly put the game out of reach with 3 runs in the 11th - The Pirates scored 2 in the 11th, so in fact, the game was out of reach. Had 'em all the way.
Mike Shannon and Tim McCarver each had two RBI; Curt Flood and Orlando Cepeda each chipped in with one apiece, as the St Louis lineup had twelve hits and six walks in the contest.
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