1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: STEVE CARLTON

Up on the blog today we have my 1981 Drake's "Big Pitchers" card of Steve Carlton, from my recent custom set released a few months ago:

"Lefty" was in his absolute prime when this card would have seen the light of day in 1981, coming off his third Cy Young Award while helping the Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Championship.

He made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was take his game to an elite, astronomical level, as we see him top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

One of the all-time greats, I'm so happy I got to see him pitch live during the 1980s!

 

MISSING IN ACTION- 1988 STEVE CARLTON

Up on the blog today, we have my "missing" 1988 card for Steve Carlton, who was hanging on for a few more seasons before calling it an incredible career:

"Lefty" appeared in 32 games during the 1987 season, splitting time between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, going 6-14 with a bloated 5.74 ERA over 152.1 innings of work, with a save and 91 strikeouts.

He made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was take his game to an elite, astronomical level, as we see him top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

One of the all-time greats, I'm so happy I got to see him pitch live during the 1980s!

 

CAREER-CAPPERS: 1989 STEVE CARLTON

Good day all!

From my recent custom set, "1980s Career-Cappers", today we spotlight my 1989 career-capper for "Lefty" Steve Carlton, who wrapped up one of the great pitching careers the game has ever seen:

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was take his game to an elite, astronomical level, as we see him top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

One of the all-time greats, I'm so happy I got to see him pitch live during the 1980s!

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: STEVE CARLTON

Time to go and add "Lefty", Steve Carlton to my future custom printed "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the game I have loved so much for close to five decades at this point:

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was take his game to an elite, astronomical level, as we see him top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

One of the all-time greats, I'm so happy I got to see him pitch live during the 1980s!

 

REVISITING: MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #15: 1972 STEVE CARLTON

Time to revisit another custom "Missing In-Action 1972 In-Action" card, this one of "Lefty" Steve Carlton originally appearing on the blog just about 10 years ago:

"Up next in my "MIA-MIA" thread is Steve Carlton, pictured here as a St. Louis Cardinal pitcher even though by the time this card would have come out he was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, on his way to a season for the ages.

His last season as a Cardinal was a good one in 1971, as he posted his first 20-win season, going 20-9 with a 3.56 earned run average, four shutouts and 172 strikeouts.

Traded for pitcher Rick Wise, Carlton would then go on to become superstar in Philadelphia, beginning with his very first season there.

In 1972 he was just legendary, posting a 27-10 record with a tiny 1.97 E.R.A., eight shutouts and 310 strikeouts in a whopping 346.1 innings of work!

This "Triple Crown" year was all produced for a last place team, and the guy almost won HALF the teams wins!

Just monster in every sense.

All he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

I'll be sure to create a "Nickname" card for him in the near future."

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: STEVE CARLTON

The next mini-card from my custom "Gum Pack" set released a few months back to get profiled here is that of the great lefty Steve Carlton, four-time Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer:

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was take his game to an elite, astronomical level, as we see him top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

One of the all-time greats, I'm so happy I got to see him pitch live during the 1980s!

REVISIT: "HALL OF FAME LEADERS-1970 N.L. ERA" POST FROM 2013

Good day all.

Thought it'd be fun to revisit an old thread of mine here on the blog, "Hall of Fame League Leaders", spotlighting league leader cards from the 1970s that were entirely populated by future Hall of Famers, beginning with the 1970 National League E.R.A. card:

Now that is an elite threesome I'd build any team around!

Here's the write-up for that post as it was posted:

"I'm going to go ahead and start a new thread today called "Hall of Fame Leaders", which are league leader cards throughout the decade of the 1970's that featured ONLY Hall of Fame players.
When I got back into collecting vintage cards after a long absence in the mid-2000's, I really got into tracking down any of these cards for their "star power".
Luckily, the '70's were loaded with such cards.
Here we have Topps 1970 National league E.R.A. leader card (#67), which features no less that three top-notch Hall of Famers: Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton.
I like the fact that we have a sort of "passing the torch" with this card. Gibson and Marichal were at the latter half of their powerful careers, and Steve Carlton was just getting started.
We have two pitchers who dominated throughout the 1960's sandwiched around a guy who would star throughout the 1970's and into the 1980's.
Combined, we're looking at 823 wins and 9556 strikeouts in 57 years of Major League action.
Oddly enough, the three legends you see here each lead the N.L. in E.R.A. only once, and only a couple years apart: Gibson in his phenomenal 1968 season (how he lost nine games that year is STILL incredible!), Marichal in 1969, and Carlton in 1972.
Nevertheless, if there was ever a definition of "star power", this would be up there.
Bob Gibson would be the first to enter the Hall in 1981, with Marichal joining him just two years later in '83 and Carlton rounding out the party in 1994 after a 24 year career."

 

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2014: 1972 CY YOUNG AWARD SPECIAL OF 1975

On the blog today, I wanted to revisit a blog post from almost 10 years ago, part of that year's thread of imagining if Topps also did a Cy Young Award sub-set in their 1975 to accompany the wildly popular MVP set.

What made creating the 1972 award fun was that I had to also recreate cards for both the winners, being that they were shown with their previous teams due to late trades: Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton:

Really fun "what if?" card to add to the WTHBALLS stable!

Here's the original write-up for that post that was on the blog June 20th of 2014:

"Today's post for my 1975 Cy Young sub-set thread is a fun one since both cards represented for the 1972 award winners have been redesigned.

I already redesigned the 1972 Topps Gaylord Perry card (the American League winner) earlier on the blog, but let me refresh your memory:

For the National League winner, Steve Carlton, I've also gone and redesigned his 1972 Topps card since his regular card in the set still had him as a St. Louis Cardinal.

And I wasn't going to use his "Traded Card" that came out as part of the late-series "traded" sub-set that year.

So before we look at my 1975 "Cy Young 1972 Winners" card, take a look at my redesigned Carlton card:

So with those two new cards designed, here's my 1972 card for the 1975 Cy Young sub-set that I thought would be nice to partner up with Topps' M.V.P. set of the same year:

Both Perry and Carlton were running on all cylinders in 1972, finally putting it all together and posting career years for their new teams.

Perry did everything the Indians were hoping for when they added him to their staff, posting a record of 24-16 (40 DECISIONS!) with a 1.92 earned run average and 234 strikeouts.

He also added 29 complete games, five of which were shutouts, over an incredible 342.2 innings of work.

For Carlton, he dominated, plain and simple, going 27-10 with a 1.97 E.R.A., as well as 310 strikeouts with 30 complete games and eight shutouts.

The man just took over that year on his way to his "Lefty" legend, and both men would find themselves in the Hall of Fame years later, as 3000+ strikeout guys, 300+ win guys, and 20+ year career guys.

Not too shabby…

Next up, 1973 and a return visit from New York Met fireballer Tom Seaver, along with the first appearance from a guy who'd end up a three time Cy Young winner, Jim Palmer.

Stay tuned…"

 

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. LHP STEVE CARLTON

Today on the blog, a super-easy choice for my 1970s left-handed pitcher of the decade, "Lefty" Steve Carlton, as if there'd be anyone else:

Part of my recent custom released National League set (with different images for the actual printed cards, with the American League team coming soon!)

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

1977 NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTENNIAL: STEVE CARLTON

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.

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": STEVE CARLTON

On the blog this fine day, we add legend Steve Carlton and his historic 19-strikeout day to my "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" set, one of my favorite sets of all time by Topps:

Ironically enough, Carlton actually lost the game on September 15th, 1969, because of Ron Swaboda's TWO two-run home runs which gave the Mets all the runs they needed to beat Carlton and the Cardinals, 4-3.
However Carlton had it all working for him that day, as he marched right into the record books by beating the previous record of 18 strikeouts which was jointly held by Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax and Don Wilson.
This was pretty much the first historic highlight of the future Hall of Famer's stellar career, as he'd go on to then post his first 20-win season in 1971 while still with the Cardinals, then post his uber-famous 1972 Triple-Crown winning year as a Philadelphia Phillie, winning his first of four Cy Young Awards.
Carlton would end his 24 year career with 329 wins, 55 shutouts, a 3.22 earned run average and a whopping 4136 strikeouts.
Those monster numbers got him inducted to Cooperstown on his first try in 1994, getting named on 436 of 456 ballots.
I remember attending a game Carlton pitched at the end of his career when he was trying to hang on those last couple of years. He pitched for the Cleveland Indians against the New York Yankees at the Stadium on April 14th, 1987 (had to look it up), giving up a grand slam homer to Yankee catcher Joel Skinner, and eventually taking the loss.
It was kind of a bummer, as he was a shell of his former self, and was caught in that vicious "hanging on" phase some players tend to get stuck in.
He'd move on to Minnesota later that year, and even pitch in four games for them in 1988 before finally hanging them up, putting to rest an incredible baseball resume that only a couple of other lefties can match in the history of the game.

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1965 STEVE CARLTON

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1965 "dedicated rookie" for all-time great Steve Carlton, from my 1960's Dedicated Rookie" set released in 2020:

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 N.L. VICTORIES

On the blog today, we move on to the N.L.’s top three winning pitchers for 1977 shown on an “expanded” 1978 league leader card:

 

Actually the card shows SIX pitchers, as the third place spot was taken up by four guys who posted 20 wins each in 1977.

But first, we begin with all-timer Steve Carlton, who took home his second Cy Young Award that season after pacing the league with his 23 wins, while posting a very nice 2.64 earned run average and 198 strikeouts for the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was Carlton’s fourth 20-win season, something he will do another two more times before he’s done, retiring with 329 wins along with 4136 strikeouts and 55 shutouts over his incredible 24 year career.

In second place with 21 wins, “Tom Terrific” Tom Seaver, who split the 1977 campaign with the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds, going 21-7 with a league-leading seven shutouts, while striking out 196 batters with 19 complete games, having arguably a better year than Carlton to be honest.

For Seaver it was his fifth and final 20-year season, on his way to 311 wins for his stellar career, while fanning 3640 batters and throwing 61 shutouts over 20 years under the Big League sun.

Just incredible, and easily my favorite pitcher of the decade if I say so myself.

In fourth place with 20 wins, four pitchers who all put in decent MLB careers: John Candelaria of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ken Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals, Tommy John of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rick Reuschel of the Chicago Cubs.

These are all men who at one point in their careers were the aces of their staffs, putting in solid Big League tenures well into the 1980’s, with Tommy John especially unique do to his surgery just a couple of years before that would have ended his career in another time or era.

The man went on to pitch over a quarter of a century and receive a surgery that ultimately bears his name and is almost a par-for-the-course ritual for today’s pitchers. Just incredible that he was able to go on for so long and end up with 288 wins over 26 years!

There you have it! The top winning pitchers in the National League in 1977, proudly displayed on a 1978 “expanded league leader” card.

Next week, the A.L.!

 

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION": STEVE CARLTON

On the blog today, we add the great Steve Carlton, aka "Lefty" to my on-going 1970 "In-Game Action" thread, celebrating my two-series custom card set released the past few months:

 

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Next in my on-going "expanded league leaders" thread for the 1970's, we move on to the National League's top three strikeout artists for 1974, shown on a 1975 league-leader card:

 

We begin with one of the greatest, Hall of Fame lefty Steve Carlton, who led the N.L. with his 240 K's in 1974, his second of what would end up being five strikeout titles over his 24 year career.

Carlton would top 200 strikeouts in a season eight times in his career, with a high of 310 during his "all-world" campaign that saw him take home the first of his four Cy Young Awards.

By the time he was done with the Majors, he'd finish with 4136 strikeouts, behind only Nolan Ryan over baseball's long history.

In second place with 221 strikeouts, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Andy Messersmith, who had a really great year in 1974 and would have been the Cy Young winner if not for teammate Mike marshall rewriting the relief pitcher record books.

For Messersmith, in addition to his 221 K's, he led the league with 20 wins and a 1.098 WHIP, also taking home the first of his two straight Gold Gloves to go along with a very nice 2.59 ERA.

In third place with "only" 201 strikeouts, quite possibly my favorite pitcher of all-time, Tom Seaver, who still managed to make it seven straight seasons of 200 or more K's.

In what was a down year for "Tom Terrific", he posted a record of 11-11 with a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts, tossing five shutouts while logging 236 innings of work.

He'd come right back in 1975, taking home his fourth strikeout title with 243 K's, following that up with yet another league-leading total in 1976 with 235.

I was in absolute awe of this man as a burgeoning baseball nut at that time, wishing beyond all that he was suiting up for my beloved Yankees instead of the cross-town Mets.

Anyway, there you have it! Next week, the American League's top strikeout pitchers.

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1966 STEVE CARLTON FROM THE "WHOLE NINE" CUSTOM SET

On the blog today, taking a closer look at my "missing" 1966 card for Hall of Fame lefty Steve Carlton, who was just about to embark on an incredible Big League career that would have him standing shoulder to shoulder with All-Time greats by the time he was done, from my "Whole Nine" card set released last year:

 

Carlton made his major League debut during the 1965 season, appearing in 15 games, with two of those starts, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 2.52 earned run average as a 20-year-old.

In 1966 it would be more of the same, as he'd appear in only nine games, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings of work, striking out 25 while walking 18, also tossing the first shutout of his young Big League tenure.

1967 would see him begin his next level of play, as he'd go 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA over 30 appearances and 193 innings, with two shutouts and 168 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win it all, their second championship in three years.

For Carlton, all he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

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.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1974 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Next up in the "expanded league leader" thread is my 1974 National League Strikeout kings celebrating the top three pitchers of 1973 for the N.L.:

 

Leading the way with 251 strikeouts is all-time great Tom Seaver, who took home his third K-Crown after leading the league in 1970 & 1971.

Seaver would go on to lead the league two more times before he was through, on his way to 3640 strikeouts over his illustrious career which also saw him post 311 wins, a 2.86 earned run average and 61 shutouts between 1967 and 1986.

Behind him with 223 strikeouts, thN.L. league leader the year before, Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, who came off his 310 K's of 1972 with another 200+-K season.

For Carlton, 1973 was a tough one as he would lead the league with 20 losses against his 13 victories, tossing three shutouts while posting an ERA some two runs higher than his 1972 number at 3.90.

Needless to say, "Lefty" would bounce back on his way to a cool 329 wins, 55 shutouts and 4136 strikeouts over 24 Big League seasons, chiseling his name into the Major League record books as one of the best to ever toe-the-rubber.

In third place with 205 strikeouts we have another New York Mets pitcher, the Rookie of the Year for 1972 Jon Matlack, who followed up his award-winning rookie year with another solid season, finishing up 14-16 with a 3.20 ERA over 34 appearances, tossing three shutouts to go along with his impressive K-total.

Matlack would go on to have a very nice 13-year Major League career, splitting his tenure with the Mets and Texas Rangers, posting a record of 125-126 with a 3.18 ERA over 361 appearances, throwing 30 shutouts while striking out 1516 batters.

Not a bad three to start ANY rotation!

Next week, we look at the American League's top-3 strikeout pitchers for 1973!

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Today on the blog we move on to strikeouts in my on-going 1973 "expanded league leaders" project, where I give each league a dedicated league-leader card, and this one is one doozy, featuring three of the best pitchers of the era:

 

We begin of course with Steve Carlton, "Lefty", who was coming off his epic "triple crown" season of 1972, dominating the league on his way to the first of his four Cy Young Awards.

Carlton struck out 310 batters over his 346.1 innings, winning 27 games for a last place team, along with eight shutouts.

The man COMPLETED 30 of his 41 starts, and pitched to a sparkling 1.97 earned run average, giving up only 76 runs. Incredible.

Behind Carlton in the strikeout race is another legend, Tom Seaver of the New York Mets, who was the N.L. strikeout king in both 1970 and 1971, this time runner-up with 249 K's.

Seaver was in his prime, winning 21 games, tossing three shutouts and finishing the season with a 2.92 ERA over 262 innings of work.

His 8.6 K's per nine innings actually led the league, something he would do six of seven seasons between 1970 and 1976!

In third place with 208 strikeouts in 1972 is yet another Hall of Fame hurler, Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals who finished with 208, the last of his nine 200-strikeouts seasons over his amazing career.

For Gibson, 1972 was the final "great" season of his 17-year career, posting a record of 19-11 with a 2.46 ERA over 34 starts, completing 23 of them with four shutouts.

In 1974 he would become (at that time) only the second pitcher to ever reach 3000 strikeouts, with only legend Walter Johnson ahead of him in the category.

Well, there you have it! The National League's top strikeout guys. Now onto the American League next week!

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. VICTORIES

On the blog today, we move on to the National League's top winners for 1972 in my on-going "Expanded League Leader" card series, featuring some big time studs of the era:

 

Of course we start off with the great Steve Carlton, who led the world in everything for 1972, winning 27 games on his way to the first of his four Cy Young Awards.

The man was just incredible, especially given that the Philadelphia Phillies won only 59 games that year!

Coming in second that year in wins was another future Hall of Famer, Tom Seaver of the New York Mets who posted 21 victories, his third 20+ win season of his young career.

The righty also posted his fifth of what would end up being nine straight 200+ strikeout seasons, also making his sixth straight All-Star team.

Tied for third among N.L. pitchers with 20 wins apiece are Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Claude Osteen.

For Jenkins, it was his sixth straight 20+ win campaign, coming off a Cy Young winning season in 1971 when he himself led the N.L. with his 24 wins, completing an incredible 30 of his 39 starts!

In Osteen, the Dodgers got a pitcher who put in his second career 20-win season, the first which came in 1969.

Osteen paired his 20-wins with a nice 2.64 earned run average, along with four shutouts while completing 14 of his 33 starts, tossing 252 innings.

Well there you go, four pitchers making the cut here on this card, as we go ahead and move on to the American League next week!

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 N.L. EARNED RUN AVERAGE

Moving on to pitching categories now in my on-going "Expanded League Leaders" thread for 1973, we have the National League's top three pitchers in terms of earned run average:

 

Of course, if we're talking the N.L. and pitching performances for 1972, it's all about Philadelphia Phillies ace and future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, who had himself a Triple Crown year after coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The lefty paced the Senior Circuit with a sparkling 1.97 ERA over 41 starts, tossing an incredible 346.1 innings and posting eight shutouts, with 27 wins and 310 strikeouts.

Needless to say, you'll be seeing Mr. Carlton in the first spot on future "Expanded League Leader" cards over the next few weeks!

Coming in second is someone you may have forgotten about, or perhaps not even known about, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Gary Nolan, who was right behind Carlton with his own 1.99 ERA, which he ended up with after 25 appearances, all starts, with two shutouts and 90 strikeouts in 176 innings of work.

The righty helped the Reds make it all the way to the World Series with his 15-5 record, leading the team in wins as well as his crisp ERA.

Coming in third in the N.L. ERA chase is another future Hall of Fame pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers great Don Sutton, who posted a career-best 2.08 ERA along with a league-leading nine shutouts over 33 starts and 272.2 innings of work.

He also topped 200 strikeouts for the fourth time in seven seasons as a Big League pitcher, on his way to over 3500 before he was done.

Next up, the American League's best ERA guys, featuring another two future HOFers and one who many have made the case for!