In 1972 the Phillies had one of their worst seasons ever, finishing with a 59-97 record. Meanwhile Steve Carlton, pitching in his first year with the Phillies (after being traded form the Cardinals for Rick Wise), had one of the greatest single seasons a starting pitcher had ever had, going 27-10 with an ERA of 1.97 and 310 strikeouts. Oh and he also had 30 complete games. Nobody has that in their career anymore.
But think about that for a minute. Carlton accounted for 46% of his team’s wins. That is just crazy.
Carlton would go on to win 329 games, striking out more than 4,100 along the way, winning 4 Cy Youngs in the process (the first pitcher to win more than 3).
During the 70’s and into the early 80’s the discussion of best pitcher in the National League was always either Seaver or Carlton. Over the course of 11 years (1972-1982) they won 7 Cy Youngs.
There is no doubt that Lefty Carlton is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
