On the other end of the spectrum, in 1934 Dizzy Dean was the last NL pitcher to win 30 games going 30-7, yet he only started 33 games. He appeared in 17 games in relief. He went 4-2 with 7 saves in those 17 games.
Can you imagine a team today using the league MVP pitcher so many times in relief in between regular starts? For example on August 7 he pitched a complete game shutout, the next day he pitched 3 shutout innings to get another win. On September 10 he pitched a complete game then appeared in relief the next two days.
|