Best Season ever by a ML pitcher?

[Vintageclout]

Piggybacking off of my last post, Pedro Martinez pitched 18 years and averaged only 157+ innings pitched per season. During his sensational 5-year stretch he had one 241 inning season (his most ever), one 230 inning year and 3 seasons with less than 220 innings. Minimal workload for sure for a team’s ace in the A.L. where there is no pinch hitting for a pitcher. Once again, Pedro was a truly spectacular pitcher but I’ll take the “other” spectacular pitcher who either gets me thru 8 innings or completes what he starts. A MAJOR difference between the two.

[profholt82]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

Piggybacking off of my last post, Pedro Martinez pitched 18 years and averaged only 157+ innings pitched per season. During his sensational 5-year stretch he had one 241 inning season (his most ever), one 230 inning year and 3 seasons with less than 220 innings. Minimal workload for sure for a team’s ace in the A.L. where there is no pinch hitting for a pitcher. Once again, Pedro was a truly spectacular pitcher but I’ll take the “other” spectacular pitcher who either gets me thru 8 innings or completes what he starts. A MAJOR difference between the two.

True, but Pedro threw an insane amount of strikeouts in those innings. More per 9 innings on average than Bob Gibson or Greg Maddux ever did.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by profholt82

True, but Pedro threw an insane amount of strikeouts in those innings. More per 9 innings on average than Bob Gibson or Greg Maddux ever did.

Maddux was never a strikeout pitcher so that’s a given. True about Pedro’s K’s; definitely a sensational ratio. However, my point is when a pitcher is “coddled” like many of the Post-1990 starters, it allows them to unload their best stuff for roughly 7 innings. ZERO concern over pacing themselves for the 9 inning journey. If anyone thinks that is not a HUGE advantage for the Post-1980 pitcher, they are fooling themselves. For example: Watching the Met-Yankee game last tonight, I noticed deGrom finally pitched into the 8th inning. And what happened? Gardner unloaded a 2-rum HR To beat him. Point being deGrom literally NEVER goes past the 7th inning. Welcome Jacob to the world of the pre-1980’s pitcher!

[Peter_Spaeth]

That's what made Maddux so enjoyable to watch. He wasn't going to blow you away, he was just going to make you look pitiful as you hit a weak grounder or harmless fly. And by late in the game the strike zone was going to be much wider than the plate.

[Misunderestimated]

Probably like comparing apples and fish (as opposed to apples and oranges) but someone on this site has to advocate for Old Hoss Radbourn's 1884 season :
59-12 with 441 Ks and he literally carried his Providence team to the NL pennant... Radbourn was the pitching staff down the stretch when the Providence club took over the league lead and won the title.... and then he led them to three victories in the earliest antecedent to the World Series over the American Association NY team (he did not allow any runs).

https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...adboch01.shtml

Really he did probably did pitch the same game that Kershaw does today or even the same one that Koufax, Grove or Walter Johnson did but still....

https://calltothepen.com/2017/12/11/...hoss-radbourn/

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

Pedro was a truly spectacular pitcher but I’ll take the “other” spectacular pitcher who either gets me thru 8 innings or completes what he starts. A MAJOR difference between the two.

I don't understand penalizing a guy because he dominated in 1997, not 1907. Dominant is dominant, no matter the era.

Do you really think any of the elite pitchers of the past 20 or 30 years couldn't "complete what he starts" if they pitched in the early 1900s? The players back then did it because that was how managers managed.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

I don't understand penalizing a guy because he dominated in 1997, not 1907. Dominant is dominant, no matter the era.

Do you really think any of the elite pitchers of the past 20 or 30 years couldn't "complete what he starts" if they pitched in the early 1900s? The players back then did it because that was how managers managed.

What I’m saying is as great as Seaver, Gibson, Koufax, Palmer, Marichal (just to mention a few great 60s/70s pitchers) were, imagine if their mentality was “I can go into overdrive for the first 7 innings because I don’t need to get the final 3-6 outs”. True, it’s not Pedro’s fault he was pulled either due to a pitch count or closer. BUT, if you honestly think Pedro could have threw 95-97mph CONSIDTENTLY for 250+ innings per season over a 7-10 year period with his fragile frame you are greatly fooling yoursel. There was a reason the Red Sox carefully monitored his workload/innings. They knew EXACTLY what they were doing.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

There was a reason the Red Sox carefully monitored his workload/innings. They knew EXACTLY what they were doing.

That is because when guys in this era are being paid $10,20,30 million dollars a year, they are rightfully viewed as investments.

Players don't just get rolled out there in this era with a torn rotator cuff like a Smoky Joe Wood while the player and the team wonder what's wrong. Perhaps if Smoky Joe Wood pitched in this era, he would not have had to become an outfielder.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Whitey Ford's innings were relatively low for a star pitcher, was that because he was used a bit more judiciously or was it just injuries?

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Whitey Ford's innings were relatively low for a star pitcher, was that because he was used a bit more judiciously or was it just injuries?

Casey Stengel definitely used Whitey less than he could have. I'm not sure why he did so, but it wasn't because Whitey was hurt. Maybe Casey thought he was fragile. But the first year after Casey was fired Ralph Houk turned him loose, and Whitey went 25 - 4 and won the Cy Young award.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Whitey Ford's innings were relatively low for a star pitcher, was that because he was used a bit more judiciously or was it just injuries?

Peter - One thing my dad told me was that Casey Stengel rarely pitched Ford at Fenway Park. Ford had a few really tough starts at Fenway and Stengel eventually found ways to skip his spot in the rotation when the Yanks traveled to Boston.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

BUT, if you honestly think Pedro could have threw 95-97mph CONSIDTENTLY for 250+ innings per season over a 7-10 year period with his fragile frame you are greatly fooling yoursel.

Funny, neither could Koufax.