Pitcher, Chicago
Cubs
Age: 28
6th season
with Cubs (5th complete)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’5” Weight: 205
Prior to 1971:
Jenkins was a
native of Chatham, Ontario in Canada who was descended from Bahamian immigrants
on his father’s side, and escaped slaves from the American South on his
mother’s side. Lanky with long arms, he competed in several sports other than
baseball in school and proved to be a fine athlete. Developing his talent as a
pitcher, Jenkins was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies following his high
school graduation in 1962. In ’62 he played with Miami of the Class D Florida
State League and Buffalo of the Class AAA International League and produced a combined
record of 8-3 with a 1.73 ERA and 75 strikeouts over 78 innings pitched. In
1963 he again was with Miami and then the Arkansas Travelers of the
International League. He was a combined 12-6 with a 3.60 ERA and 148 strikeouts
over 150 innings. After playing winter ball in Nicaragua, Jenkins split 1964
with two more teams, at the Class AA and AAA levels, and went 15-11 with a 3.12
ERA and 198 strikeouts. In 1965 he was primarily a reliever with Arkansas and
compiled an 8-6 record with a 2.95 ERA and 112 strikeouts over the course of
122 innings. This earned him a call-up to the Phillies where he made 7 relief
appearances and produced a 2-1 record with a 2.19 ERA. Jenkins started the 1966
season with the Phillies and had appeared in just one game when he was traded
to the Cubs along with outfielder/first baseman John Herrnstein and outfielder
Adolfo Phillips for veteran RHPs Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson. He continued to be
utilized as a reliever until given the opportunity to start later in the season
and he ended up going 6-8 with two complete games and a shutout and a 3.31 ERA with
148 strikeouts over 182 innings pitched for the Cubs. Following an offseason of
winter baseball and exhibition basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters,
Jenkins was part of the rotation from the start in 1967 and was 20-13 with a
2.80 ERA and league-leading 20 complete games. His 236 strikeouts set a new
franchise record. He was an All-Star for the first time and tied for second in
NL Cy Young Award voting. The Cubs jumped from the cellar in 1966 to third
place, benefiting greatly from the performance of their young pitchers,
including Jenkins. With command of both a rising and sinking fastball, slider,
and curve, Jenkins was a 20-game winner again in 1968, posting a 20-15 record
with a 2.63 ERA over the course of a league-leading 40 starts with another 20
complete games and 260 strikeouts. In a 1969 season in which the Cubs came up short
to the Mets in the new NL East, Jenkins was 21-15 with a 3.21 ERA and a
league-leading 273 strikeouts. He topped the NL with 24 complete games in 1970
on his way to a 22-16 record with a 3.39 ERA and 274 strikeouts.
1971 Season Summary
Appeared in 39
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 39
Games Started –
39 [1]
Complete Games
– 30 [1]
Wins – 24 [1]
Losses – 13
[20, tied with Bob Gibson & Clay Kirby]
PCT - .649 [7]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 3
[13, tied with ten others]
Innings Pitched
– 325 [1]
Hits – 304 [1]
Runs – 114 [6,
tied with Steve Arlin]
Earned Runs – 100
[8]
Home Runs – 29
[1]
Bases on Balls
– 37
Strikeouts – 263
[2]
ERA – 2.77 [9]
Hit Batters – 5
[18, tied with eight others]
Balks – 4 [1]
Wild Pitches – 3
League-leading
games started were +1 ahead of runners-up Bill Stoneman & Claude Osteen
League-leading
complete games were +9 ahead of runner-up Tom Seaver
League-leading
wins were +4 ahead of runners-up Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton & Al Downing
League-leading innings
pitched were +30.1 ahead of runner-up Bill Stoneman
League-leading
hits allowed were +25 ahead of runner-up Milt Pappas
League-leading
home runs allowed were +1 ahead of runner-up Barry Lersch
League-leading
balks were +2 ahead of five runners-up
Midseason
Snapshot: 13-8, ERA - 2.83, SO - 146 in 174.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 14 (in 9 IP) at Philadelphia 7/24, (in 9 IP) at Philadelphia
9/19
10+ strikeout
games – 7
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at Atlanta 8/16, (in 7 IP) at San
Francisco 6/22
Batting
PA – 132, AB – 115,
R – 13, H – 28, 2B – 7, 3B – 1, HR – 6, RBI – 20, BB – 7, SO – 40, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .243, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 8, SF – 2
Fielding
Chances – 86
Put Outs – 31
Assists – 48
Errors – 7
DP – 1
Pct. - .919
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
7th in
NL MVP voting (71 points, 21% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Ferguson
Jenkins, ChiC.: 97 pts. – 17 of 24 first place votes, 81% share
Tom Seaver, NYM:
61 pts. – 6 first place votes, 51% share
Al Downing, LAD:
40 pts. – 1 first place vote, 33% share
Dock Ellis,
Pitt.: 9 pts. – 8% share
Bob Gibson,
StL.: 3 pts. – 3% share
---
Cubs went 83-79
to finish tied for third place in the NL Eastern Division with the New York
Mets, 14 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching
staff led the league in complete games (75).
Aftermath of ‘71:
“Fergie” made
it six straight 20-win seasons in 1972 to tie the club record, going 20-12 with
a 3.20 ERA and 184 strikeouts. Having pitched over 300 innings in four of those
six seasons, Jenkins dropped to 271 in 1973 as he struggled with knee and
shoulder injuries to finish with a 14-16 record with a 3.89 ERA and 170
strikeouts. Traded to the Texas Rangers in the offseason as part of the deal
that brought third baseman Bill Madlock to the Cubs, Jenkins rebounded with an
outstanding 25-12 record and an AL-leading 29 complete games plus 225
strikeouts and placed second in league Cy Young Award balloting. He followed up
with a 17-18 tally in 1975 with a 3.93 ERA and was dealt to the Boston Red Sox
afterward. Inconsistent with Boston in 1976, Jenkins produced a 12-11 record
with a 3.27 ERA and 142 strikeouts. His luck was little better in a 1977 season
in which he was 10-10 with a 3.68 ERA and 105 strikeouts. He was dealt back to
Texas in the offseason and bounced back at age 34 with an 18-8 record in 1978
with a 3.04 ERA and 157 strikeouts. In 1979, Jenkins dropped to 16-14 with a
4.07 ERA and 164 strikeouts. He was suspended for 20 games in 1980 after drugs
were found in his luggage during a road trip to Toronto. He still finished with
a 12-12 record and 3.77 ERA. During the strike-interrupted 1981 season, Jenkins
lost his spot in the starting rotation and ended up at 5-8 with a 4.50 ERA.
Returning to the Cubs as a free agent after the season, Jenkins was a
respectable 14-15 with a 3.15 ERA in 1982 and 6-9 with a 4.30 ERA in 1983. He
was released in the spring of 1984, thus finishing his long career at age 41.
Overall, Jenkins produced a 284-226 major league record with seven 20-win
seasons and a 3.34 ERA, striking out 3192 batters over the course of 4500.2 innings
pitched. Playing so many seasons with Chicago’s Wrigley Field as his home
ballpark, he topped the NL in home runs allowed five times and the AL another
two times. He also accumulated 267 complete games and 49 shutouts. With the
Cubs, he was 167-132 with a 3.20 ERA and 2038 strikeouts. A fair hitting
pitcher during his NL years, Jenkins hit .165 with 13 home runs and 85 RBIs. A
three-time All-Star (all with the Cubs), his #31 was retired by the Cubs. He
was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, the Canadian Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1987, and the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2004.
--
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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