Next
up in my on-going “Turn Back the Clock” series is 1968 and Don
Drysdale’s amazing shutout streak, a record that remained intact until
another Dodger pitcher, Orel Hershiser, topped it exactly 20 years later:
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.