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by user Harold Friend
Roger Clemens is returning. Roger was born August 4, 1962, which means that this August Roger will be 44 years old. If things go the way Roger and the Astros hope, they will be involved in a race for the playoffs. Not many pitchers have pitched at the age of 44, much less pitched effectively enough to lead their team to the World Championship.
Cy Young was not the greatest pitcher of all time, but he won 511 games, most of them before 1900, and as a reward, he has had an award named in his honor. Young, in 1911, at the age of 44, pitched for the Cleveland Naps and the Boston Rustlers, going 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA for the team that would be known in modern times as the Indians and winning 4 while losing 5 with a 3.71 ERA for the team that would be called the Braves. Not bad, but Young pitched only 126 1/3 innings over 18 starts. He did pitch 2 shut outs.
Warren Spahn's 363 victories are the most by any left handed pitcher in baseball history. At the age of 42, Spahn was 23-7, pitching 259 2/3 innings, allowing only 241 hits, and compiling a 2.60 ERA. It was an outstanding season but that would Spahn's last hurrah. At age 43, the great southpaw went 6-13, pitching only 173 2/3 innings, allowing 204 hits with a bloated 5.29 ERA.
When he was 44, Spahn pitched for one New York team that had been created in an attempt to replace two New York teams that deserted the city and for one of the New York teams that had left. Spahn was 4-12 for the Mets with a 4.36 ERA and 3-4 for the Giants with a 3.39 ERA. He didn't pitch quite as badly as his won-lost record might indicate, but he certainly wasn't leading any team to the pennant.
The pitcher most similar pitcher to Roger Clemens at the age of 44 is Nolan Ryan. When he was 44 years old, Ryan pitched for the Texas Rangers. He had the kind of season Clemens would love to have in 2006.
Ryan started 27 games, pitched 173 innings, allowed only 102 hits, and struck out 203 batters. The latter is one of the most remarkable of all accomplishments. A 44 year old fast ball pitcher struck out 10.56 batters per 9 innings. Ryan had a 2.91 ERA compared to the American League's 4.02. Yes, there was a designated hitter in all the lineups Ryan faced, Roger.
There have been a few other pitchers who pitched at the age of 44. Of course, Satchel Paige was not allowed to play in the major leagues until he was 41 years old despite disclaimers that his country was one in which anyone could achieve anything if she had enough talent and determination.
Paige, at the age of 45, pitched for one of the most of all inept teams, the St. Louis Browns. He went 12-10 with a 3.07 ERA, allowing 116 hits in 138 innings. Not much about his great ability can be garnered from his major league career considering all the factors involved, but there is no question that Paige was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Had he followed the career pattern those with less melanin were given the opportunity to follow, perhaps he would have been able to pitch effectively even longer that he did.
Jack Quinn won 247 games over a 23 year career that began in 1909 with the New York Highlanders and ended with the Reds in 1933 when he was 49 years old. Quinn's only 20 win season occurred when he jumped to the Federal League in 1914. HE was a solid pitcher just a little short of being a Hall of Famer. When he was 44, Quinn won 18 while losing only 7 with a 2.90 ERA for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.
Red Faber IS a Hall of Famer who compiled a record extremely similar to Jack Quinn's. Faber won 254 games over a 20 year career with a 3.15 ERA compared to Quinn's 3.29. The difference is that Faber bunched three 20 win seasons together from 1920-1922. When he was 44, Faber had seen better days. Actually, his last good seasons were 13 wins in both 1928 and 1929. Faber won only 3 games when he was 44, lost 4, and then retired.
Three more pitchers who are fascinating to study are Tommy John, Jim Kaat, and Ted Lyons. John won 288 games, pitching until the age of 46. Kaat won 283 games, pitching until the age of 44, and Lyons won 260 games, pitching until the age of 45. Only Lyons is in the Hall of Fame. If Red Faber and Lyons are in the Hall of Fame, so too should be Kaat and John---and Bert Blyleven, but that's another story.
Tommy John had a pretty decent season for the Yankees when he was 44, winning 13, losing 6, and pitching to a 4.03 ERA compared to the American League's 4.38. Kaat pitched exclusively in relief for the Cardinals at age 44. He was 0-0 with a 3.89 ERA but yielded 48 hits in only 34 2/3 innings. Ted Lyons had a great season when he was 44 years old in 1942. Pitching in an American League that was missing many players who were defending freedom and democracy overseas, Lyons won 14. lost 6, and had an outstanding 2.10 ERA. It was the kind of season that would Clemens and the Astros more than happy.
Gaylord Perry, who admitted he cheated in his wonderful book, Me and the Spitter: An Autobiographical Confession, is a Hall of Famer who won 314 games. His last good season occurred at the age of 39 for the Padres when he went 21-6 with a 2.73 ERA, which was good enough to win the National League Cy Young Award. Perry never again won more than 12 games in a season and at the age of 44, pitching for the Mariners and Royals, was 7-14 with a 4.64 ERA.
A sad case was that of Steve Carlton, whose career ended when he was 39 years old despite going to the mound until he was 43. Carlton had a decent season, winning 13 and losing 7 over 33 starts for the 1984 Phillies. The often silent left hander was 1-8 in 1985 and followed that mark with an inglorious combined 9-14 for the Phillies, Giants, and White Sox in 1986. In 1987, Carlton, pitching for the Indians and Twins, again lost 14 games but this time managed only 6 wins. He stopped visiting the pitching mound at the age of 43 and has not been heard from since.
The remaining top pitchers who pitched at the age of 44 were all knuckle ballers. Dutch Leonard, Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, and Charlie Hough all had long careers, which is often the case with knuckle ball pitchers.
Wilhelm had a fantastic season, going 8-3 with a 1.31 ERA and 12 saves for the 1967 White Sox when he was 44. Neikro won 11 games for the Braves at age 44, but Leonard and Hough had poor seasons at that age. One cannot compare old knuckle ballers to other old pitchers since there is so much less strain on their pitching arms than on the arms of regular pitchers. Yes, knuckle ballers are irregular.
What does all this mean for Roger Clemens? Actually, nothing. Clemens was great the season he turned 43, but his body broke down in the playoffs. Will having waited until almost the end of June result in Clemens' being able to last into October?
Nolan Ryan is the only hard thrower who had a great season when he was 44. How did Ryan maintain the power fastball? Will Clemens be able to maintain the excellence of last season? Will it be enough to lead an offensively challenged Astros team to the playoff?
No one knows the answers. All that is known for certain is that if Clemens can do what he is being paid to do, he will become only the second pitcher who relied on hard stuff to do it. We can wait.
References
- http://www.baseball-reference.com/
- http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/
- http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/
Date
Mon 06/05/06, 8:04 am EST
