Drysdale was coming towards the end of his Hall of Fame career in 1968 because of a chronically sore shoulder, but in May & June of 1968 he was just incredible, tossing six straight shutouts, on his way to 58 2/3 shutout innings pitched, topping Walter Johnson’s 55 2/3 innings in 1913.
Ironically, just about as Drysdale’s streak was ending, one of the other longest such streaks began, as St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Bob Gibson began a 47-inning stretch of shutout ball that encompassed the entire month of June.
Drysdale would finish the season with a record of 14-12, with a 2.15 earned run average and eight shutouts over 31 starts, 12 of them completed.
The following year, because of his constant shoulder pain, Drysdale decided to retire after going 5-4 with a 4.45 E.R.A. over 12 games, finishing his career with 209 wins and a very nice 2.95 E.R.A., with 49 shutouts and 2486 strikeouts in 14 Major League seasons.
