Tom Seaver's knee scraped on many a mound
But I sometimes wonder where that would leave Hall of Famers of years past, had they hit the pitching scene today.
I mean, what pitcher these days would drive as low off the mound as the great Tom Seaver did in order to generate drive, ending up with a dirty kneecap on his uniform? I can't think of any.
Juan Marichal and Jim Palmer with their high leg kicks? Both high-kicked their ways all the way to the Hall of Fame.
Fernando Valenzuela had a high kick, with a glance to the heavens, and unique style - it was good enough for 8 shutouts in 25 rookie starts, a Cy Young, and a Rookie of the Year award, and 172 career wins.
Tom Glavine lacked blazing speed, but carved the corner of the plate like a celebrity chef and widened the strike zone. Hall of Fame.
Greg Maddux was not a fireballer, but was a virtuoso genius - Hall of Fame.
Luis Tiant - none were more unique than El Tiante. It got him 229 wins, 49 shutouts, and four 20 win seasons - but not in the Hall of Fame - yet.
Tug McGraw with the screwball - a fine career - would they have let him throw it today? 19 seasons, 96 wins, 180 saves.
I wonder, if these 8 former greats pitched in this day and age, if coaches would have forced changes - throw harder, throw harder! - and ruined those masterpieces. How many of them would have been told to throw the ball thru brick walls and ended up with a rendezvous with an elbow or shoulder surgeon as a result? I don't recall surgery for any of the foregoing, do you?
I miss the stylistics of pitchers like these of ages past. Maybe you've got a few of your own like, say, David Cone? El Sid, Sid Fernandez?
I'm just throwing this out there, in my own unique style.
What say you?
12 comments:
My own memories, I have to start with Dan Quisenberry, who I was shocked could pitch with that delivery. It was the first time I saw a guy throw like that because even Kent Tekulve threw sidearm. Another one was Tim Lincicum. Lincicum had the same motion Sidd Finch was described as. Lastly, probably John Candeleria, who threw just above sidearm, or even sidearm sometimes to lefties.
Sadly, the days of 40 CGs and 140 ppg are over.
Soon to come...
Min. 4 innings for decision.
TexasCC beat me to one of two styles to discuss -- the sidearmer. The Mets themselves benefited greatly from Jeff Innis while he was in Queens.
The other style was the knuckleballer. The Mets obviously saw what R.A. Dickey could do with that pitch and many of us watched Charlie Hough, Hoyt Wilhelm, the Neikros...
Juan Marichal.. Still my all time favorite. 16 innings 1-0 win over Warren Spahn. Willie Mays HR
I was at his 14 inning 1-0 loss to Mets on a Tommie Agee HR.
Hi gents - just back.
Gus, when I was in high school, Candalaria threw a 1 hit shutout in a 7 inning game with 18 Ks. My classmate got a single off him. He was also a great basketball player, and I saw him as a freshman for Rice against Archbishop Molloy in the CHSAA finals, I blieve, in Fordham's arena. Molloy had Kevin Joyce and Brian Winters. It was a great game, I do not remember who won.
Guys with names like Quisenberry and Tekulve had to have odd pitches. Both may have been odd, but both incredibly effective.
Reese, I have often wondered why otherwise good, but not good enough, minor league pitchers did not turn to the knuckler. Dickey turned it into a Cy Young and millions of bucks. If you're going to almost succeed getting out of the minors, and it is just a not-enough-velo problem, try the knuckler. Or just hit a lot of batters to keep them off the plate.
And Innis and Joe Smith were both good indeed.
Maestro, if any pitcher today went 14 or 16 innings, the surgeon would be on speed dial.
Maricahel and Koufax - in the early years, the Mets had no chance against them. I think combined they started out about 30-0 against those weak Mets squads. When McGraw beat Koufax, that was a total stunner, a euphoric night. The kid beat the unbeatable.
Mack, that 4 inning win thing has to come. It feels weird but when your relievers get almost half the season's decisions, something ain't right. I think the Mets' relievers had around 75 of the 162 decisions last year.
Probably but they better have 17 or 18 man pitching staffs.
For style & effectiveness there's Bob Gibson then everybody else.
Gary, they used 38 pitchers in 2021. Staggering, but true. They'll use a lot in 2022, also .
Hobie, I still resent Gibson beaning Agee in the first AB of spring training 1968. Could have killed him. Otherwise, certainly an incredible pitcher, a cobra on the mound.
Post a Comment