Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies
9th season
with Phillies
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’4” Weight: 210
Prior to 1980:
A native of
Miami, Florida Carlton played basketball as well as baseball at North Miami
High School. Moving on to Miami-Dade College he was signed by the St. Louis
Cardinals. In 1964 he was first assigned to Rock Hill of the Class A Western
Carolinas League where he excelled by compiling a 10-1 record in 11 games with
a 1.03 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 79 innings pitched. He was sent next to
Winnipeg of the advanced Class A Northern League where he went 4-4 with a 3.36
ERA in 12 appearances. Carlton finished up the year with Tulsa of the Class AA
Texas League where he was 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He moved up to the Cardinals in
1965 in order to protect him from being taken by another team in the Rule 5
draft. Encountering arm trouble, he was used sparingly and appeared in 15
games, almost exclusively in relief, and had no decisions and a 2.52 ERA.
Carlton opened the 1966 season in Tulsa and was 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA when he was
promoted back to the Cardinals. For the remainder of the season, he started
nine games and went 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 25 strikeouts over the course of 52
innings pitched. He joined the starting rotation in 1967, a year in which the
Cards won the NL pennant and World Series. He contributed a 14-9 record and
2.98 ERA while striking out 168 batters over 193 innings pitched. He also
benefited from his proximity to ace RHP Bob Gibson and his fierce approach to
pitching. Carlton lost his only start in the World Series against the Red Sox
while giving up three hits and an unearned run over six innings. The Cardinals
won the NL pennant again in 1968 and Carlton was an All-Star for the first time
on his way to compiling a 13-11 tally with a 2.99 ERA and 162 strikeouts. He
added a slider to his pitching repertoire that already included a rising
fastball and curve in 1969 and improved to 17-11 with a 2.17 ERA and 210
strikeouts, including 19 in a loss to the Mets which set what was then the
major league record for a nine-inning game. Once more an All-Star he sought a
significant raise from his $26,000 salary and he held out in 1970 for a large
part of spring training. He had a down year in ’70, with a 10-19 record and
3.73 ERA. Carlton bounced back in 1971 going 20-9 with a 3.56 ERA and 172
strikeouts while pitching 273.1 innings and completing 18 games. An All-Star
for the third time he demanded a significant raise and antagonized owner Gussie
Busch, who ordered that he be traded during spring training of 1972. He was
dealt to the Phillies for RHP Rick Wise. The result was a spectacular season
for the 27-year-old pitcher with a poor club in ’72. While Philadelphia only
won 59 games on the way to the NL East cellar, Carlton posted a 27-10 record
with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts, which earned him the NL Cy Young Award.
Carlton dropped to 13-20 with a 3.90 ERA in 1973, although he again led the
league with 18 complete games and 293.1 innings pitched. By the end of the
season he had stopped speaking to reporters, a position he upheld for the
remainder of his career. He improved to 16-13 with a 3.22 ERA and a NL-leading
240 strikeouts in 1974 and was 15-14 with a 3.56 ERA and 192 strikeouts in
1975. During this period Carlton developed a workout regimen with trainer Gus
Hoefling designed to improve his concentration and stamina, building upon his
established interests in martial arts and Eastern religion. His efforts bore
fruit in 1976 with a 20-7 record and 3.13 ERA and 192 strikeouts for a Phillies
team that topped the NL East. He was 23-10 in 1977 with a 2.64 ERA and 198
strikeouts and won his second Cy Young Award as the Phils again finished atop
the division. The Phillies won the NL East once more in 1978 while their
eccentric pitching ace known as “Lefty” compiled a 16-13 record with a 2.84 ERA
and 161 strikeouts. He had an 18-11 tally for the fourth place Phils in 1979
with a 3.62 ERA and 213 strikeouts.
1980 Season Summary
Appeared in 38
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 38
Games Started –
38 [1, tied with Phil Niekro & Rick Reuschel]
Complete Games
– 13 [2]
Wins – 24 [1]
Losses – 9
PCT - .727 [3]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 3 [4,
tied with nine others]
Innings Pitched
– 304 [1]
Hits – 243 [7]
Runs – 87
Earned Runs – 79
Home Runs – 15
[20, tied with six others]
Bases on Balls
– 90 [2]
Strikeouts – 286
[1]
ERA – 2.34 [2]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 7 [1]
Wild Pitches – 17
[1]
League-leading wins
were +4 ahead of runner-up Joe Niekro
League-leading
innings pitched were +23 ahead of runner-up Steve Rogers
League-leading
strikeouts were +86 ahead of runner-up Nolan Ryan
League-leading
balks were +1 ahead of runner-up Charlie Leibrandt
League-leading
wild pitches were +5 ahead of runner-up Joe Niekro
Midseason
Snapshot: 14-4, ERA - 2.14, SO - 153 in 155.1 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 13 (in 8 IP) vs. San Diego 6/14, (in 10 IP) vs. San
Francisco 8/22
10+ strikeout
games – 11
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis 4/26
Batting
PA – 111, AB – 101,
R – 7, H – 19, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 6, BB – 1, SO – 21, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .188, GDP – 4, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – 3
Fielding
Chances – 44
Put Outs – 2
Assists – 42
Errors – 0
DP – 1
Pct. - 1.000
Postseason
Pitching: G – 4 (NLCS vs. Houston – 2 G; World Series vs. KC Royals – 2 G)
GS – 4, CG – 0,
Record – 3-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 27.1, H – 25, R – 8, ER – 7,
HR – 0, BB – 17, SO – 23, ERA – 2.30, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 1
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
5th in
NL MVP voting (134 points, 40% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 4):
Steve Carlton,
Phila.: 118 pts. – 23 of 24 first place votes, 98% share
Jerry Reuss,
LAD: 55 pts. – 1 first place vote, 46% share
Jim Bibby, Pitt.:
28 pts. – 23% share
Joe Niekro, Hou.:
11 pts. – 9% share
---
Phillies went
91-71 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 1 game over the Montreal
Expos. Boosted by third baseman Mike Schmidt’s hitting and Carlton and reliever
Tug McGraw’s pitching, first baseman Pete Rose’s leadership, and solid
performances from several rookies, the Phillies overcame a 6-game August 10
deficit and went 36-19 the rest of the way, including 6 of their last 7 games.
Clinching the NL East title came down to Schmidt slugging a home run that beat
Montreal in the 11th -inning in the season’s final weekend. Won NLCS
over the Houston Astros, 3 games to 2, which came down to a 10-inning win in
the deciding game. Won World Series over the Kansas City Royals, 4 games to 2,
for the first World Series triumph in franchise history. Carlton won both of
his starts including the decisive Game 6.
Aftermath of ‘80:
In the strike-shortened 1981 season Carlton was 13-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 179 strikeouts over 190 innings pitched and placed third in NL Cy Young Award balloting. Carlton followed with another outstanding season in 1982 in which he led the NL in wins with a 23-11 record as well as complete games (19), shutouts (6), and strikeouts (286). He was honored with a fourth Cy Young Award. In 1983, another pennant-winning year for Philadelphia, Carlton’s record dropped to 15-16 with a 3.11 ERA although he topped the league with 283.2 innings pitched and 275 strikeouts. He had a fair, but not outstanding, performance in 1984 that produced a 13-7 record and 3.58 ERA along with 163 strikeouts over 229 innings. He slipped considerably in 1985 at age 40, finding himself on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff on his way to a 1-8 tally and 3.33 ERA in only 16 starts. He lasted until June in 1986 when he was released by the Phillies with a 4-8 record and 6.18 ERA in 16 starts. Signed by the San Francisco Giants, the situation showed no improvement as he went 1-3 with a 5.10 ERA prior to being let go in August, shortly after recording his 4000th career strikeout. Carlton announced that he was retiring but ended up finishing the season with the Chicago White Sox. He was 4-3 in 10 starts for his third club in ‘86 with a 3.69 ERA. Carlton spent 1987 with the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, generating a combined record of 6-14. Re-signed by the Twins for 1988 Carlton made just four appearances before being released, thus ending his career, although he continued to seek opportunities to catch on with another team. Overall in the major leagues Carlton compiled a 329-244 record with a 3.22 ERA and 4136 strikeouts in 5217.2 innings pitched. With the Phillies he was 241-161 with a 3.09 ERA and 3031 strikeouts over 3697.1 innings pitched. While he pitched 254 complete games that included 55 shutouts, he didn’t pitch any no-hitters although he recorded 6 one-hitters. He was also called for a record 90 balks over the course of his career. In the postseason Carlton went 6-6 with a 3.26 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 99.1 innings pitched. 13 of his 16 appearances came with the Phillies. He was a 10-time All-Star (7 with Philadelphia) and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. The Phillies retired his #32 and honored him on their Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park, outside of which a statue of him was erected.
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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.
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