Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies
Age: 32
6th season
with Phillies
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’4” Weight: 210
Prior to 1977:
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
1977 Season Summary
Appeared in 36
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 36
Games Started –
36 [7, tied with J.R. Richard]
Complete Games
– 17 [3, tied with Steve Rogers]
Wins – 23 [1]
Losses – 10
PCT - .697 [6]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 2 [9,
tied with fifteen others]
Innings Pitched
– 283 [3]
Hits – 229 [9,
tied with Larry Christenson]
Runs – 99 [17,
tied with Jackie Brown]
Earned Runs – 83
Home Runs – 25
[7, tied with Bruce Kison]
Bases on Balls
– 89 [5]
Strikeouts – 198
[4]
ERA – 2.64 [4]
Hit Batters – 4
[20, tied with ten others]
Balks – 7 [1]
Wild Pitches – 3
League-leading wins
were +2 ahead of runner-up Tom Seaver
League-leading balks were +1 ahead of runners-up Larry Christenson, Tom Griffin & Bob Shirley
Midseason
Snapshot: 13-4, ERA - 2.96, SO – 104 in 158 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 14 (in 9 IP) vs. Houston 8/21, (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis 9/9
10+ strikeout
games – 5
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 7 IP) vs. NY Mets 7/5
Batting
PA – 112, AB – 97,
R – 7, H – 26, 2B – 4, 3B – 0, HR – 3, RBI – 15, BB – 2, SO – 20, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .268, GDP – 0, HBP – 1, SH – 7, SF – 3
Fielding
Chances – 57
Put Outs – 4
Assists – 52
Errors – 1
DP – 2
Pct. - .982
Postseason
Pitching: (NLCS vs. LA Dodgers)
G – 2, GS – 2,
CG – 0, Record – 0-1, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 11.2, H – 13, R – 9, ER
– 9, HR – 2, BB – 8, SO – 6, ERA – 6.94, HB – 0, BLK – 1, WP – 1
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
5th in
NL MVP voting (100 points, 30% share)
NL Cy Young
voting:
Steve Carlton,
Phila.: 104 pts. – 17 of 24 first place votes, 87% share
Tommy John, LAD:
54 pts. – 3 first place votes, 45% share
Tom Seaver,
NYM/Cin.: 18 pts. – 2 first place votes, 15% share
Rick Reuschel,
ChiC.: 18 pts. – 1 first place vote, 15% share
John
Candelaria, Pitt.: 17 pts. – 1 first place vote, 14% share
Bruce Sutter,
ChiC.: 5 pts. – 4% share
---
Phillies went
101-61 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 5 games over the
Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching staff led the league in saves (47). The
Phillies were 8.5 games out of first in June before catching fire and rolling
to a second straight division title. Lost NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3
games to 1, keyed by a disastrous meltdown by the Phillies in the ninth inning
of Game 3.
Aftermath of ‘77:
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. The Phillies rebounded in
1980 to win the NL East and the league pennant as well as a franchise-first
World Series. Carlton produced a 24-9 record and 2.34 ERA while also leading
the league in innings pitched (304) and strikeouts (286). His performance
earned him a third Cy Young Award. In the World Series vs. the Royals he won
two games including the decisive sixth contest. In the strike-shortened 1981
season he 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.
--
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.
