Best Season ever by a ML pitcher?

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

I believe Gibson had a stretch in 1968 whete he gave up only 2 earned runs in 98 innings. That’s absolutely unfathomable!!!!

Those 2 runs were scored on a wild pitch that was catchable and a bloop double. In addition to 13 shutouts, Gibson pitched 11 games where he allowed only 1 run including 2 where the run was unearned.

For the live ball era, I would take Koufax's 1965 season when you factor in his World Series MVP performance.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The Big Unit's 372 K season.

[earlywynnfan]

How has nobody brought up Lefty Grove in 1931?? The absolute height of the hitters' era, he goes 31-4!

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by rats60

Those 2 runs were scored on a wild pitch that was catchable and a bloop double. In addition to 13 shutouts, Gibson pitched 11 games where he allowed only 1 run including 2 where the run was unearned.

For the live ball era, I would take Koufax's 1965 season when you factor in his World Series MVP performance.

Here is my issue with Post-1990 great starting pitchers. They seldom finished what they started. Not to say that’s their fault because the game has changed to a relief pitcher fest. Consider as great as Pedro’s 1999 & 2000 seasons were, he only completed 12 games out of 58 starts, or a meager 21% of his games. Make no mistake about it, the TOUGHEST outs in baseball are the final 3-6 outs, and starting pitchers simply don’t have to get them anymore. Those are the outs that cause the most stress on the arm (in any tight ball game), and at this juncture, starters can simply gas up for 6/7 innings and give the ball up to the next guy. In 1968, Gibson completed 28 of his 34 starts and as you stated, gave up 1 or 0 runs in 24 of those 34 starts. You can adjust Pedro’s stats all you want with sabermettics, but even sabermetrics doesn’t measure the superiority of a pitcher that gets all 27 outs. That’s a MAJOR piece of analysis that Bill Jsmes has left on the table. Personally, due to his fragile size, I simply don’t think Pedro could have handled the innings workload of a Gibson, Seaver, Carlton, etc. just my two cents.

With that in mind and as a quick analogy, look how critical a great relief pitcher has been weighted over the past 30+ years. If a legendary pitcher such as Mariano Rivera was so valuable to a team’s success (which he was), then imagine how great pre-1980 HOF pitchers truly were because in reality and by today’s standards, they were literally “saving their own wins”! There is NO substitute for the value of a starting pitcher who completes what he starts which is why comparing starters from the past 30+ years versus their pre-1990 (give or take) peers is becoming a near-imposdible comparison.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The game has changed. Judgments have been made that for the most part a team is better off using the bullpen even when the starter is going strong. It's not the pitchers' fault or a case of they don't make em like they used to. If the great pitchers of today had lived earlier, they would have been pitching complete games. Maybe someone like Pedro who was unusually small for a flamethrower is an exception, but in general there is no reason at all to suppose pitchers in general were better back then.

[SullyV]

I believe that the best modern day season is Greg Maddux's 1995 season. 19-2, 1.63 ERA, 10CG and 3 shutouts, only 23 walks and 1 wild pitch. Pedro Martinez can't hold a candle to that.

[Peter_Spaeth]

How about Maddux 1997 when he walked 20 the entire year, 6 intentionally. That is scary good control.

[SullyV]

On top of that, zero wild pitches in 97

[bgar3]

Joe Wood, 1912. 34 and 5 regular season, 3 and 1 World Series. 10 shutouts.

[JollyElm]

Ron Guidry went 25-3 in 1978. What a shutdown season he had. From my personal standpoint, he gets the award for my lifetime.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

How about Maddux 1997 when he walked 20 the entire year, 6 intentionally. That is scary good control.

Yes, exactly right. This is one of the seasons I alluded to in my initial post. He also had a complete game with less than 80 pitches! Unbelievable how good he was.....He was maybe even better in 1995, 19-2 with an era of around 1.50.....

[1963Topps Set]

How about Roy Face in 1959?