15 Steve Carlton

 

Steve Carlton
P
1965-1988
4x C
y Young, 10x All Star, 4th all time in Strikeouts
Baseball Hall of Fame 1994
Think of how many left handed pitchers major league baseball has seen. Now imagine your nickname is "Lefty". Steve Carlton pitched on a few good teams, a few more that weren't good at all. Every year he got it done. He lead the league in wins 4 times (329 total). He lead the league in strikeouts 5 times (4136 total, good for 4th ever). Stats don't tell the whole story with Carlton but if you want some, check out his 1972 season. He went 27-10 on a team that won 59 games! 

He was the ace for the 1980 Phillies who ended a long championship drought. He also picked up a ring with the 1967 Cardainls. 

If you like modern stuff he's 19th all time in WAR for pitchers and 45th all time in WAR for anyone. He started the 6th most games in MLB history (709) and won the 11th most (329). His stats aren't as sterling as some because he was left out there to finish games regardles of mileage and he pitched on some garbage teams. He finished 254 of his career starts. 

I'm a sucker for a good quote. Willie Stargell once said of trying to hit Carlton "It's like trying to drink coffee with a fork." 

He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994


Anthony Leonelli is a 37 year old College Basketball Coach and amateur baseball arguer. If you wanna know how this list came together check here criteria. He thinks that George Brett winning batting titles in 3 decades is pretty awesome. 


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