On the blog today, we add Hall of Fame lefty Steve Carlton to my on-going 1977 N.L. Centennial sub-set, celebrating the Senior League's 100th anniversary season of 1976, marked with a special patch worn by all players that year:
The first guy to take home four Cy Young Awards, he led his league
in wins four times, strikeouts five times, E.R.A. once and was named to
ten all-star teams.
Of
course, he would end up topping 200 strikeouts eight times,
with a career-best 310 in his historic 1972 season that saw him win 27
games while pitching to a 1.97 ERA, all league-leading numbers, for a
last-place Philadelphia Phillies team, while completing 30 of his 41
starts. Just insane!
From then on he just pitched himself straight to the Hall of Fame,
winning 329 lifetime games, with 55 shutouts, a 3.22 E.R.A. and 4146
strikeouts.
He was also named to 10 all-star teams and was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards: 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982.
Throw in six 20-win seasons, eight sub-2.00 E.R.A. seasons, and
eight 200+ strikeout seasons, and you see why he was named on 436 of 456
ballots when Cooperstown came calling.
Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton
was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his
accomplishments.
