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NMI Tourney. Best pitcher of the 1970s.

Paddy26 said 03/26, 01:09 PM
Steve Carlton. Without a question.

First of all, he won games. Carlton won at least 15 games in 8 years of that decade, and at least 20 in 4 years. He even won 27 in his career year of 1972! He was invaluable to his team.

Second, he was a complete workhorse. He pitched over 250 innings every year except 78, when he pitched 247. He would work deep into games and let his relievers rest.

Third, he could strike guys out. Here are some more numbers for you:

150+ Ks every year
200+ Ks 4 years
300+ in 72

He let his fielders rest while he did the work.

Finally, he had a good ERA. He never went over 4.00 one year, and he had a microscopic 1.97 in 72.

Bottom line, he was the most dominant pitcher of the 70s.

Oso's back-Sort of said 03/26, 11:12 PM
I'm going to go with Jim Palmer who dominated the MLB in the 70's in:

Wins 186

ERA 2.58

Completed Games 175

Shutouts 44.

That is what a dominating pitcher is all about. These stats are for the *entire* decade. Not one single year or 4 years. All 10 years.

Carlton was something, but good ERA's don't cut it. Steve's 3.07 over the decade is much more than Palmer's.

Carlton had 38 fewer wins, a mere 26 shutouts, and a mere 134 completed games.

His infielders were resting all right. They watched the long ball sail over their heads a whopping 190 times!

Lefty had heat, but he also gave up a lot of walks, hits and runs to boot.

On the other hand, Palmer was consistent and had the stat that counts. Wins.

That's why he was the most dominant pitcher of the 1970's.

Paddy26 said 03/26, 11:28 PM
Wins is an overrated stat. Wins do not necessarily show how good the pitcher did, just how goodd the team did. You could receive a win after letting up 100 runs!

Palmer played for a dominant team that was a winning machine during the 70s. They never were below .500, making the playoffs half of the years.

The Phillies meanwhile, did have some losing seasons over that course. They only made the playoffs 3 times that decade.

A great example: Carlton had a sub-2.00 ERA with 27 wins and 300+ Ks in 1972. The O's won 57 games!

Also, Carlton owned Palmer in the strikeout category. He was much more dominant than Palmer in that manner. Carlton would get you out himself; Palmer would depend on his fielders.

Finally, Palmer did not dominate up and down like Carlton. He had off-years, like when he went 7-12.

That is why I think Carlton was more dominant.

Oso's back-Sort of said 03/27, 12:00 AM
So wins are overrated but Strike Outs aren't? Fantastic argument. Let's look at the "domination" our pitchers have up and down during the *entire decade*.

You can *think* Carlton's more dominant. But the stats prove otherwise.

Wins:
Palmer- 186*
Carlton-148

ERA:
Palmer- 2.57
Carlton-3.07*

CG:
Palmer- 175*
Carlton- 134

Shutouts (Dominating)
Palmer- 44*
Carlton-26

KO:
Palmer- 1559
Carlton- 1732*

HR:
Palmer- 184*
Carlton- 190

Palmer dominates Carlton over the entire decade with the exception of 1 category. Strikeouts. That's only one small facet of the game.

Is it any wonder that the Orioles won more than the Phillies when they have a more dominant pitcher? Carlton gave up way too many HR's and ER's. His fielders were working far harder than Palmer's because he was getting shelled when he couldn't get the ball past the batters.

My issue with both your arguments so far is that you note single years when we're talking about an entire decade. If we were arguing 1972 you'd have me. But we're not. Palmer rules Carlton when it comes to smart, selective pitching, and in every other aspect that matters.

Paddy26 said 03/27, 10:34 PM
Great job, Oso. You win.

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Good luck yourself, Oso. Your gonna need it. Hehe.

Paddy26 | 03/26/08, 01:10 PM

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NMI Tourney. Best pitcher of the 1970s.

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