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September 19, 2006
And Down The Stretch They Come . . .
There's Bob Gibson. In 3 WS with the Cards (in which they beat the Yanks in '64 and Boston in '67, and lost to Detroit in '68), Gibson was 7-2, starting 9 games, completing 8, pitching 81 innings, KOing 92 hitters, walking 17, with a career ERA of 1.89. In the '67 series against the BoSox, Gibson was 3-0, three complete games, ERA of 1.00, 1 shutout, 26 Ks and 5 walks.
Next, Sandy Koufax. In 4 WS appearances, he had a career ERA of 0.95, appearing in 8 games, starting 7, completing 4, pitching 57 innings, KOing 61, walking 11, but going only 4-3 for the light hitting Dodgers of '59, '63, '65, and '66. Against the powerful '65 Twins (with Killebrew, Allison, Oliva, Mincher, and MVP Zoilo Versalles), Koufax was 2-1 with 2 complete games and an ERA of 0.38! He lost game 1, working only 6 innings and giving up 1 earned run. But in games 5 and 7, Koufax pitched consecutive complete-game shutouts, surrendering only 7 total hits, KOing 20, and walking only 4.
Then there's Babe Ruth -- baseball's greatest player. In two WS for the BoSox, Ruth started 3, won 3, completed 2, pitched 31 innings, and compiled an 0.87. He KO'd only 8, walked 10, and gave up 19 hits.
Whitey Ford, the anchor of the great Yankees Dynasty, pitched in 11 WS from 1950 to 1964, going 10-8 with a 2.71 ERA. Ford is best known for pitching a WS-record 33.3 consecutive shutout innings starting in the '60 WS against Pittsburgh (18 innings in 2 complete game shutouts), the '61 WS against the Reds (2-0 in 14 scoreless innings), and .3 of an inning against the Giants in '62.
There was Ford's teammate, Allie Reynolds who went 7-2 in 15 WS games, 9 starts, 5 complete games, and a 2.79 ERA in 6 WS -- all Yankee victories. Or how 'bout Jack Billingham of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine of the early '70s. He wasn't the horse of their staff, like Gibson or Koufax, but in 3 WS, he went 2-0, pitched 25.3 innings, allowed only 14 hits with 19 KOs, and an incredible 0.36 ERA! Roger Clemens has pitched in 6 WS, going 3-0 in 8 starts but only 49.3 innings with a 2.37 ERA.
Any others?
Posted by shertaugh at September 19, 2006 2:23 PM
Comments
Clemens has some bad history in the LCS - getting ejected for shouting at the home plate ump in 1988. WS, I might add Schilling to the list, pitching well for 3 teams, 3-1 total, 6 starts, 41 IP, 39 K, 8 BB.
My favorite since a 6th grade book report on him has been Gibson. His attitude and presence on the mound are the best, not to mention fastball & slider.
You're better off using K'ing, or with 8 Ks than saying KO'ing. A pitcher KO'ing reminds me of Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura.
Posted by: Jim Caserta at September 19, 2006 5:58 PM
While not quite as lofty as those above, check out the post season stats for Jack Morris. They are pretty impressive.
Posted by: paul yamada at September 20, 2006 10:57 AM
I'm not sure about his whole career, but Christy Mathewson in the 1905 Series was utterly ridiculous. Of course, the dead ball helped.
Posted by: Devin McCullen at September 20, 2006 1:18 PM
Waite Hoyt, 1921 World Series, three starts, three complete games, no earned runs, 2-1 because he lost a game on an unearned run.
In the 19th century, Old Hoss Radbourn pitched all three games of a three game series (the 19th Century World Series between the National League and American Association), completed all three games, and didn't give up an earned run. His team did give up some unearned runs, so he only got one shutout. That was the year he won 59 games.
Posted by: Syd at September 21, 2006 9:54 PM