Trivia Pt.2 - Wins per Decade. With a Prize!
 

Some folks wanted to go another round, so here we go. Let's see if Mikehealer can defend his title.

As before, there must be NO CHEATING or it will be ruined for everyone. Starting in the 1880s and running through the 2000s, which baseball pitcher had the most wins per decade? I think this one is tougher than the hits-per-decade (I think I only got 5 right myself on this one), but let's see what happens.

Reply using the format below. Answers may be discussed and amended through Sunday at 11pm eastern, and then all entries become final. Whoever has the most correct answers out of the 13 possible will win a prewar card of my choosing (which will probably be a well-loved common worth about $10...so don't get too excited). If the winner does not want the card, it will be randomed off to all participants.

Tiebreaker question: What was the average number of wins per decade that the top pitcher had? Please include the answer to this question in your entry.

1880s:
1890s:
1900s:
1910s:
1920s:
1930s:
1940s:
1950s:
1960s:
1970s:
1980s:
1990s:
2000s:
Tiebreaker:

Ok I will be the sacrificial lamb again and go first

1880s: Keefe
1890s: Young
1900s: Mathewson
1910s: Johnson
1920s: Grimes (on further thought Alexander was on the downside even by the famous 26 world series so I don't think it could have been him for the whole decade) Between Grimes and Vance, coin flip.
1930s: Grove
1940s: Newhouser
1950s: Spahn
1960s: Marichal
1970s: Palmer (OK I am convinced by whoever was certain)
1980s: Morris
1990s: Maddux (on reflection Clemens' last several years with the Sox in the mid 90s were pretty unproductive)
2000s: Halliday (petite?)
Tiebreaker: 175

haven't looked, but what about Newhouser in the 40's?

Not a bad choice, if he didn't lose multiple years to the war, but not familiar with his stats.

Well, Newhouser was AL MVP in 1944 and 45, so I'm guessing he didn't lose any time to WWII.

1880s: Keefe
1890s: Nichols
1900s: Mathewson
1910s: Alexander
1920s: Vance
1930s: Hubbell
1940s: Newhouser
1950s: Spahn
1960s: Marichal
1970s: Palmer
1980s: Morris
1990s: Maddux
2000s: Halladay
Tiebreaker: 182

1880- Radbourn
1890- Young
1900- Mathewson
1910- Johnson
1920- Vance
1930- Hubbell
1940- Newhouser
1950- Roberts
1960- Gibson
1970- Palmer
1980- Morris
1990- Clemens
2000- Halladay


And as an additional guess I'll say Kershaw in 2010s.

Forgot: tiebreaker- 205

1880 Keefe
1890 Young
1900 Mathewson
1910 Johnson
1920 Alexander
1930 Grove
1940 Newhouser
1950 Spahn
1960 Marchial
1970 Palmer
1980 Morris
1990 Clemens
2000 Petite

Tie breaker - 185

70s
 

Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro? Just a thought. Not my initial reaction but on reflection... Or Fergie or Catfish?

00s
 

R Johnson or Oswalt, on further reflection?

Or Sabathia? But probably Halladay.

I'm sure this has to be Palmer. :)

Palmer had a string of 20 win season in the 70's. Niekro was .500 or around that mark. Same with Perry. Palmer was on a team that won also, can't say the same with Niekro or Perry.

I thought about Whitey Ford, but he never really put it all into one decade. If I remember, he didn't start winning until what, 1953 and carried that for about 10 or 11 years to maybe 1964. If those numbers would have been in one decade instead spread out, I would see him as a serious contender. The same is true for Ron Guidry.

1980's
 

It's funny that everyone nailed Jack Morris, because that's the first fact cited in his HOF case: "How can you keep out the guy that led all of baseball in wins in the 1980's?". Of course, I just take it on faith, I've never actually looked it up! :D

My guesses.

I think the Grove or Hubbell for the 30's is intriguing, I absolutely have to go look it up.

Newhouser was 4-F during WWII, he absolutely dominated the last couple of war years.

1880: Radbourne
1890: Young
1900: Mathewson
1910: Johnson
1920: Alexander
1930: Grove
1940: Newhouser
1950: Spahn
1960: Gibson
1970: Carlton
1980: Morris
1990: Clemens
2000: Johnson
tiebreaker: 202

Carlton or Seaver then?

1880s: Radbourne
1890s: Young
1900s: Mathewson
1910s: Johnson
1920s: Vance
1930s: Grove
1940s: Newhouser
1950s: Spahn
1960s: Gibson
1970s: Palmer
1980s: Morris
1990s: Maddux
2000s: Halladay

Sorry, not sure I understand the tiebreaker question of "What was the average number of wins per decade that the top pitcher had?" Do you mean top pitchers (plural)? Meaning the average wins for all top pitchers', top decade? - I'd go with 195.

The TB question as asked would mean that if the top pitcher had 210 wins in the decade they won, and 10 wins in the decade before, and 110 in the decade after, the "average number of wins per decade that the top pitcher had" would be 110. :D

Yes. So if the 20s winner had 150, the 30s winner had 180, and the 40s winner had 210, the average wins for the top pitcher(s) would be 180.

Incidentally, the highest entry right now has 11/13 correct. Let's see some more entries!

I know Carlton and Seaver both had a couple of " off " seasons but Palmer had one also during the 70's. If I had to pick one to win a game for me, I pick Seaver.

1880s: Radbourne
1890s: Young
1900s: Mathewson
1910s: Johnson
1920s: Grimes
1930s: Grove
1940s: Newhouser
1950s: Spahn
1960s: Marichal
1970s: Palmer
1980s: Morris
1990s: Maddux
2000s: Pettitte
Tiebreaker:210

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Here are the answers:

1880s: Keefe
1890s: Nichols
1900s: Mathewson
1910s: Johnson
1920s: Grimes
1930s: Grove
1940s: Newhouser
1950s: Spahn
1960s: Marichal
1970s: Palmer
1980s: Morris
1990s: Maddux
2000s: Pettitte

Remarkably, the all-time wins leader is missing from the list. Also, although it was not part of the question, I believe Kershaw is the active leader for the 2010s, with 101 wins (Scherzer is next with 96).

Peter and rats60 both had 11 correct answers, so we'll have to go to the tiebreaker. The average number of wins was 208.62, so Rats wins with a tiebreaker answer of 210. Congrats! PM me your contact info and I will get the prize in the mail.

I thought Young was a lock. Looking them up now, some amazing numbers by Nichols. Had his career continued...

I also looked up Vance. Remarkably, he had ZERO wins by age 30, and still ended up with almost 200. Weird.

Hey Peter, look up Adolfo Luque. He was below .500 for his career if not for his 1923 season. I think he went 26-7 with a 1.93 ERA. I've never seen a season so out of place with the rest of the career.

Like Brady Anderson hitting 50 home runs, or Norm Cash hitting .361.

yeah, even better than steve stone's one off year

we had a whole thread on fluke seasons
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=163280

I know little of post-1900, but I would guess Radbourn for the 1880s and Nichols for the 1890s

Thanks Peter, I had forgotten that thread.

Johnson's 265 wins from 1910-19 represents 35% of his team's victories.