In Days Gone By, Pitchers Used to Leave It All on the Field
There ought to be a parade every time a Mets pitcher throws a complete game (CG). These days, there are so very, very, few.
Two Mets' complete games in 2021. If you blinked twice, or you find that your nap time coincides with Mets broadcasts, you missed them.
In the 7 prior full Mets' seasons?
2019 - 3 CG
2018 - 3 CG
2017 - 2 CG
2016 - 1 CG
2015 - 1 CG
2014 - 1 CG
2013 - 4 CG
In those 8 seasons, a total of 17 complete games. An average of 2 a season.
In 1969, the Mets threw a tad more of them - 51 complete games. An average of 51 a season.
I saw an interesting graphic on the 1975 season regarding complete games that season.
Stunning, frankly, compared to today's game.
Catfish Hunter? 30 Complete Games
Jim Palmer and Gaylord Perry? 25 CG
Ferguson Jenkins? 22 CG
Bert Blyleven? 20 CG
One Met, who else but Tom Seaver, ended up in a 4-way tie for 17th most that year, with 15, tying the great Dave Goltz (Dave WHO?), Doc Medich, and Jerry Reuss.
Could pitchers today throw that many complete games in a season if the games were shortened to, say, 6 innings? Doubt it. 5 innings? Perhaps.
It is amazing to stop and think that in 1975, just in his complete game starts, Catfish threw 270 innings that year!! Possibly more, if he went extra innings in any. After all, in his career, he went beyond the 9th inning 16 times, throwing 25.1 innings, and having a 1.07 ERA in those extra innings.
Ask a guy these days to go more than 9 innings, he'd want to the players' union to renegotiate the C.B.A. first.
Warren Spahn missed 3 seasons in World War II and still ended up with 382 complete games. Spahn also had 39 career starts where he went beyond the 9th. Tossing 79 total innings after the 9th, 3.06 ERA. Hundreds of Mets' pitchers over the years never threw 79 innings, period.
The entire Mets' staff's 17 CG over the past 8 years would have only had the Metsies in a 3 way tie for the 11th spot amongst individual pitchers in 1975.
Highly successful ex-Met Nolan Ryan, by the way, had "only" 10 CG that season, but in 5 surrounding seasons, he averaged 24 CG a season.
Looking at that 1975 complete game top 20 list, one might think in horror, "weren't they at increased risk for UCL surgery?"
Not worried about it back then - they were men who liked to finish what they started.
It's funny that the first pitcher ever to receive Tommy John surgery got it in the off season just prior to 1975, by the name of Tommy John. Some coincidence there, dontcha think?
Interestingly, at least to me, Tommy John had 6 complete games when he first returned from TJS in 1976, 11 in 1977, and a total of 33 more in 1979 and 1980. I guess the surgery worked - oh, and he pitched 14 seasons after the surgery. He must have bought the extended warranty.
OK, my article is complete. I hope you're game enough to read it all.
I also hope didn't find it to be complete nonsense. And find yourself game enough, please, to leave a complete comment. You'll have my complete gratitude.
9 comments:
Pitchers are taught these days to let it all hang out until the velocity reduces
The closer and then LaRusss 7and 8th inning setup guys changed all that.
The game has certainly changed, and I guess there are two points I'd like to make:
1. It seems like in olden days, teams did't really look out for the long term health of their pitchers, or really care much or have concerns...they were inexpensive and replacable. Now, pitchers are multi-million dollar assets that teams DO need to care for.
2. The game changed when relievers stopped being the worst pitchers on your team that were incapable of starting. Now, relief specialists throw 100 mph and are huge assets that teams rely on and live and die with. You want those hard throwing arms in there when starters start to tire.
Good thread, Tom
"Pitchers are taught these days to let it all hang out until the velocity reduces." But it still is hard for me to believe that one size fits all. If Catfish in his prime pitched today, would he only be capable of 2 complete games a year? Why not let the Catfishes of today pitch much deeper into games?
Uncle Fred, I hear ya.
Catfish's ERA in the 8th and 9th inning of that 30 complete game 1975 was much higher than it was for innings 1-7.
The Catfishes of today didn’t start throwing sliders and other junk in the 8th grade.
Nickel, I think of Mark Fidrych in that regard. 24 complete games as a rookie, cratered the next season.
Also, everyone assumes Dwight Gooden's personal issues were what did him in. I, however, remember reading an article where he said that he was incredibly sore between starts. I hear that and I think, "how stupid of the team."
You wonder if he had been used more like today's guys, rather than throwing 745 innings and 35 complete games at ages 19-21, plus 26 more playoff innings in 1986, if he would kept the high heat and have won 300 games.
The science of arm health is not yet totally understood. It used to be, "If it hurts, stop throwing." Now it is pitch counts, TJ surgery, and lots of muscle training. New technology can track arm slot, ball rotation, and joint mechanics. Hopefully that technology will get team doctors to the point where they understand what compromises joint and ligament health and what doesn't. There are probably arms out there that are capable of Catfish-like seasons, but no one is willing to try it until the science is understood. Until then, lots of pitch limits, lots of middle relief specialists, and very rare 200+ inning seasons for starters.
Guys should get a $10,000 per inning bonus over 180 innings. Get to 200 innings? Make an extra $2 million. Otherwise, Paul, why would a guy want to pitch longer, unless he knows it is his last contract?
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