Pitcher, Houston
Astros
Age: 31 (Apr. 26)
4th season
with Astros
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 210
Prior to 1986:
A native of
California, Scott captained both the baseball and basketball teams at Hawthorne
High School. As a senior he compiled a 9-1 pitching record with a 0.67 ERA.
Moving on to Pepperdine University he produced a 26-14 tally and a 2.10 ERA and
received All-West Coast Athletic Conference honors three straight years. He was
chosen by the New York Mets in the 1976 amateur draft. Assigned to Jackson of
the Class AA Texas League he started 7 games in ’76 and was 3-3 with a 2.86
ERA. Returning to Jackson in 1977 Scott compiled a 14-10 record with a 2.94 ERA
and 97 strikeouts in 187 innings pitched and ended the year in the Class AAA
International League with the Tidewater Tides. He returned to Tidewater in 1978
and was 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched. Scott
started the 1979 season with the Mets and was sent back to Tidewater in June
where he produced an 8-4 record with a 3.18 ERA and returned to the parent club
in a late-season call-up. In his stints with the Mets Scott appeared in 18
games, 9 of them starts, and was 1-3 with a 5.33 ERA. Scott was with Tidewater
for further seasoning in 1980 and went 13-7 with a 2.96 ERA before receiving
another late-season call-up to the Mets where he started six games and produced
a 1-1 record with a 4.30 ERA. Sticking with the Mets in 1981, Scott was a
mediocre 5-10 in 23 starts with a 3.90 ERA. The situation was no better in 1982
as he started 22 of his 37 appearances and went 7-13 with a 5.14 ERA.
Considered to be a huge disappointment thus far, the Mets traded Scott to the
Astros in the offseason for OF/1B Danny Heep. He missed the first month of the
1983 season due to shoulder tendinitis but went on to start 24 games and
compile a respectable 10-6 record with a 3.72 ERA. Scott fell to 5-11 with a
4.68 ERA in 1984. In the offseason he learned how to throw the split-fingered
fastball and turned his career around. He improved to 18-8 with a 3.29 ERA and
137 strikeouts in 1985, although accusations of ball-scuffing came to be levelled
at him and would follow into the ’86 season.
1986 Season Summary
Appeared in 38
games
P – 37, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 37
Games Started –
37 [4, tied with Bill Gullickson]
Complete Games
– 7 [8, tied with five others]
Wins – 18 [3,
tied with Bob Ojeda]
Losses – 10
PCT - .643 [8]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 5
[1, tied with Bob Knepper]
Innings Pitched
– 275.1 [1]
Hits – 182
Runs – 73
Earned Runs – 68
Home Runs – 17
[20, tied with six others]
Bases on Balls
– 72 [19]
Strikeouts – 306
[1]
ERA – 2.22 [1]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 3
League-leading
innings pitched were +6 ahead of runner-up Fernando Valenzuela
League-leading
strikeouts were +64 ahead of runner-up Fernando Valenzuela
League-leading
ERA was -0.35 lower than runner-up Bob Ojeda
Midseason
Snapshot: 9-6, 2.29 ERA, SO – 167 in 161 IP
---
Most strikeouts,
game – 14 (in 8.1 IP) at San Diego 9/14
10+ strikeout
games – 11
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 (in 9 IP) vs. San Francisco 9/25 (No-hitter with 2
BB, 1 HB & 13 strikeouts. Astros won 2-0)
Batting
PA – 107, AB – 95,
R – 7, H – 12, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 2, SO – 48, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .126, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 10, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 65
Put Outs – 24
Assists – 39
Errors – 2
DP – 2
Pct. - .969
Postseason
Pitching:
G – 2 (NLCS vs.
NY Mets)
GS – 2, CG – 2,
Record – 2-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 1, IP – 18, H – 8, R – 1, ER – 1, HR –
0, BB – 1, SO – 19, ERA – 0.50, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0 NLCS MVP
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
10th
in NL MVP voting (33 points, 10% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Mike Scott, Hou.:
98 pts. – 15 of 24 first place votes, 82% share
Fernando
Valenzuela, LAD: 88 pts. – 9 first place votes, 73% share
Mike Krukow, SF.:
15 pts. – 13% share
Bob Ojeda, NYM.:
9 pts. – 8% share
---
Astros went 96-66
to finish first in the NL Western Division by 10 games over the Cincinnati Reds.
The pitching staff led the league in shutouts (19), saves (51), strikeouts
(1160), fewest hits allowed (1203), and fewest runs allowed (569). Relying on
pitching, speed, and defense the Astros clinched the AL West title on Scott’s
September no-hitter. Lost NLCS to the New York Mets, 4 games to 2.
Aftermath of ‘86:
Scott followed
up with a 16-13 record in 1987 with a 3.23 ERA and 233 strikeouts while the Astros
dropped to third place and 76-86. He was again an All-Star selection and
finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting. Still a solid pitcher in 1988
Scott produced a 14-8 record with a 2.92 ERA and 190 strikeouts. Scott’s last significant
year was in 1989 when he was 20-10 with 3.10 ERA and 172 strikeouts and he
finished second in NL Cy Young Award balloting. Troubled with a sore shoulder
in 1990, Scott fell to 9-13 with a 3.81 ERA, although he still pitched 205.2
innings. Off to a poor start in 1991 Scott, suffering from extreme shoulder
pain, ended his career at age 36. Overall he compiled a 124-108 major league
record with a 3.54 ERA and 1469 strikeouts in 2068.2 innings pitched. With the
Astros he was 110-81 with a 3.30 ERA and 1318 strikeouts over 1704 innings. He
was a three-time All-Star and the Astros retired his #33.
--
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the
Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present).
The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception
through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.
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