Cy Young Profile: John Denny, 1983

Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  30

2^nd season with Phillies (1^st complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 185

Prior to 1983:

A native of Prescott, Arizona, Denny starred in baseball and football in high school, after which he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970 amateur draft. Initially assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, he appeared in 11 games in ’70 and went 2-2 with a 1.29 ERA and 43 strikeouts over 42 innings pitched. Advancing to St. Petersburg of the Class A Florida State League in 1971, Denny produced an 8-13 record with a 3.04 ERA and 77 strikeouts over the course of 139 innings. He spent 1972 with Modesto of the Class A California League where he started 14 games and had a 7-5 tally with a 4.40 ERA. Moving on to the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League in 1973 he started 20 games and compiled a 10-6 record with a 3.12 ERA and 81 strikeouts. Advancing to the Tulsa Oilers of the Class AAA American Association in 1974, Denny went 9-8 with a 3.75 ERA and 79 strikeouts, earning a September call-up to the Cardinals in which he appeared in two games and generated no decisions. Starting the 1975 season with the Cards, he was sent back to Tulsa, where he went 3-1 before returning to St. Louis. Prone to ankle injuries while in the minors, Denny pitched well after being recalled by the Cardinals until he was hindered by a leg injury. He ended up with a 10-7 record and 3.97 ERA with 72 strikeouts for the Cards. With command of a fastball, hard curve, and change-up, Denny was a bright spot on a fifth-place club in 1976, leading the NL with a 2.52 ERA, although lack of run support limited his record to 11-9. He dropped to 8-8 with a 4.51 ERA during an injury-riddled 1977. Denny bounced back with a 14-11 tally and 2.96 ERA in 1978. In addition to his pitching talent he also became known for his temper that could be directed against umpires and teammates, as well as opponents. His 1979 performance dropped to 8-11 with a 4.85 ERA and he was traded to Cleveland in the offseason. He suffered a heel injury midway through the 1980 season that sidelined him for the rest of the way and left him with an 8-6 record and 4.39 ERA. Denny performed well during the strike-interrupted 1981 season, going 10-6 with a 3.15 ERA. Bothered by a sore shoulder in 1982, he had a 6-11 record with a 5.01 ERA when he was traded to the Phillies in September, where he was 0-2 the rest of the way.    

1983 Season Summary

Appeared in 36 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 36

Games Started – 36 [3, tied with Steve Rogers]

Complete Games – 7 [11, tied with Rick Rhoden, Pascual Perez & Jerry Reuss]

Wins – 19 [1]

Losses – 6

PCT - .760 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1

Innings Pitched – 242.2 [7]

Hits – 229 [8]

Runs – 77

Earned Runs – 64

Home Runs – 9

Bases on Balls – 53

Strikeouts – 139 [14]

ERA – 2.37 [2]

Hit Batters – 4 [12, tied with twelve others]

Balks – 1

Wild Pitches – 6 [20, tied with seven others]

League-leading wins were +2 ahead of runners-up Mario Soto, Steve Rogers & Bill Gullickson

League-leading win percentage was +.108 ahead of runners-up Larry McWilliams, Pascual Perez & John Candelaria

Midseason Snapshot: 6-4, ERA - 2.13, SO - 52 in 109.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 7 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 8/9

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) vs. Houston 4/30, (in 9 IP) vs. NY Mets 7/1

Batting

PA – 96, AB – 77, R – 7, H – 13, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 2, SO – 16, SB – 2, CS – 0, AVG - .169, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 17, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 66

Put Outs – 16

Assists – 42

Errors – 8

DP – 6

Pct. - .879

Postseason Pitching:

G – 3 (NLCS vs. LA Dodgers – 1 G; World Series vs. Baltimore – 2 G)

GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 1-2, PCT – .333, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 19, H – 17, R – 8, ER – 5, HR – 1, BB – 6, SO – 12, ERA – 2.37, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0,

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

13^th in NL MVP voting (24 points, 7% share)

NL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

John Denny, Phila.: 103 pts. – 20 of 24 first place votes, 86% share

Mario Soto, Cin.: 61 pts. – 2 first place votes, 51% share

Jesse Orosco, NYM: 19 pts. – 1 first place vote, 16% share

Steve Rogers, Mon.: 15 pts. – 1 first place vote, 13% share

Larry McWilliams, Pitt.: 7 pts. – 6% share

Phillies went 90-72 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 6 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching staff led the league in strikeouts (1092). The Phillies were at 43-42 in July when GM Paul Owens fired manager Pat Corrales and took over as field manager. They went 47-30 the rest of the way to secure the NL East title. Won NLCS over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 games to 1. Lost World Series to the Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 1, with Denny’s Game 1 victory Philadelphia’s only win.

Aftermath of ‘83:

An elbow injury sidelined Denny for more than two months during the 1984 season and he finished at 7-7 with a 2.45 ERA. He came back in 1985 with an 11-14 record and 3.82 ERA and 123 strikeouts over 230.2 innings pitched. Dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in the offseason, he produced an 11-10 record with a 4.20 ERA and 115 strikeouts before retiring at age 33. Overall for his career, he compiled a 123-108 record with a 3.59 ERA and 1146 strikeouts over 2148.2 innings pitched. With the Phillies he was 37-29 with a 2.96 ERA and 375 strikeouts over 650 innings pitched. His only postseason action came with the Phillies in 1983.

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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.