Cy Young Profile: Pat Hentgen, 1996

Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays

Age:  27

5^th season with Blue Jays

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 210 

Prior to 1996:

A Michigan native, Hentgen pitched and played shortstop at Fraser High School in the Detroit area. The Blue Jays selected Hentgen in the fifth round of the 1986 amateur draft and he passed up a scholarship offer from Western Michigan University to sign with Toronto. Initially assigned to St. Catherines of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania League, he posted a disappointing 0-4 record with a 4.50 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched. Moving on to Myrtle Beach of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1987 he improved to 11-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 188 innings. In 1988 Hentgen was with Dunedin of the Class A Florida State League where, due to poor run support, his record was an unimpressive 3-12, but he had a 3.45 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 151.1 innings. He also started a combined no-hitter among his wins. Still with Dunedin in 1989, his tally improved to 9-8 with a 2.68 ERA and 148 strikeouts. Moving up to Knoxville of the Class AA Southern League in 1990, he went 9-5 with a 3.05 ERA and 142 strikeouts while accumulating 153.1 innings. In 1991 he was with the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League where he topped the circuit in strikeouts with 155 while posting an 8-9 mark and a 4.47 ERA. In a late-season call-up to the Blue Jays, he appeared in three games and had no decisions. Catching on as a member of Toronto’s bullpen in 1992, Hentgen appeared in 28 games, two of them starts, and spent some time back in Syracuse due to roster moves during the season. For his first major league season, he went 5-2 with a 5.36 ERA but was shut down in mid-August due to injury and missed Toronto’s postseason run that resulted in a World Series title. He started 1993 in the bullpen but soon moved into the starting rotation where he excelled with a 19-9 record and 3.87 ERA with 122 strikeouts. He was prone to giving up home runs, with his 27 surrendered leading the staff, but as Toronto reached the postseason again, he followed a poor ALCS outing with a win in the World Series against Philadelphia, where he pitched six innings of one-hit ball. With his fine fastball, curve, and changeup, Hentgen performed well in the strike-shortened 1994 season, compiling a 13-8 tally with a 3.40 ERA, 147 strikeouts,6 complete games, and 3 shutouts. The Blue Jays dropped into the AL East cellar in 1995 and Hentgen was a disappointing 10-14 with a 5.11 ERA and led the league by giving up 236 hits and 114 earned runs while he struggled with his control. The club was hoping for a return to his previous form in 1996.

1996 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35

Games Started – 35 [2, tied with ten others]

Complete Games – 10 [1]

Wins – 20 [2]

Losses – 10

PCT - .667 [4]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 3 [1, tied with Ken Hill & Rich Robertson]

Innings Pitched – 265.2 [1]

Hits – 238 [12, tied with Tim Wakefield & Orel Hershiser]

Runs – 105

Earned Runs – 95

Home Runs – 20

Bases on Balls – 94 [8, tied with Chuck Finley]

Strikeouts – 177 [7]

ERA – 3.22 [2]

Hit Batters – 5

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 8 [19, tied with four others]

League-leading complete games were +3 ahead of runners-up Ken Hill & Roger Pavlik

League-leading innings pitched were +7.2 ahead of runner-up Alex Fernandez

Midseason Snapshot: 8-6, ERA - 3.86, SO - 81 in 133 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 9 IP) vs. Texas 9/9, (in 8 IP) at Detroit 9/24

10+ strikeout games – 2

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 8 IP) at Oakland 6/20

Fielding

Chances – 43

Put Outs – 11

Assists – 31

Errors – 1

DP – 6

Pct. - .977

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

AL Cy Young voting (top 5):

Pat Hentgen, Tor.: 110 points – 16 of 28 first place votes, 79% share

Andy Pettitte, NYY.: 104 points – 11 first place votes, 74% share

Mariano Rivera, NYY: 18 points – 1 first place vote, 13% share

Charles Nagy, Clev.: 12 points – 9% share

Mike Mussina, Balt.: 5 points – 4% share

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The Blue Jays went 74-88 to finish fourth in the AL Eastern Division, 18 games behind the division-winning New York Yankees. The pitching staff led the league in complete games (19, tied with Texas). Following an April home run tear, the Blue Jays cooled off in May and remained inconsistent in producing runs the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1996:

In 1997, Hentgen topped the AL in complete games (9, tied with new teammate Roger Clemens), shutouts (3, also tied with Clemens), and innings pitched (264, again tied with Clemens) on his way to a 15-10 record with a 3.68 ERA and 160 strikeouts. A bout with shoulder tendinitis in 1998 limited him to a 12-11 tally with a 5.17 ERA and 94 strikeouts. 1999 proved to be another underwhelming season in which Hentgen went 11-12 with a 4.79 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 199 innings pitched. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason. With the NL Central-winning Cardinals in 2000 he produced a 15-12 record with a 4.72 ERA and lost his only postseason start. A free agent in the offseason, Hentgen returned to the American League with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001. He started only nine games before undergoing “Tommy John” surgery in August. He appeared in a total of 32 games for Baltimore in 2002 and ’03 with unimpressive results and returned to Toronto in 2004 where he went 2-9 with a 6.95 ERA before retiring in July. For his major league career Hentgen compiled a 131-112 record with a 4.32 ERA, 34 complete games, 10 shutouts, and 1290 strikeouts in 2075.1 innings pitched. With the Blue Jays he was 107-85 with a 4.28 ERA, 31 complete games, 9 shutouts, and 1028 strikeouts over 1636 innings. Appearing in 3 postseason games, his record was 1-2 with a 9.24 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. A three-time All-Star, he twice received Cy Young Award votes, including the one win, and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He later coached and scouted for the Blue Jays.  

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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.