53 Responses to “Teams With 2+ 18+ Game Winners Since 1973”

1. Kahuna Tuna Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

   I hadn't realized that no Pirates pitcher has won 15 games since Doug Drabek in 1992.

2. Mark Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:10 pm

   I love the fact that Maddux shows up 6 times, but Clemens only twice.

3. basmati Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:11 pm

   5 different teams in 2002!

4. Larry R. Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:13 pm

   @1

   The team's high-water mark in wins since '92 is 79.

5. wlcmlc Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:16 pm

   @ #1 that is not correct.

6. Max Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:45 pm

   @1

   close but not quite right. Todd Ritchie won 15 in '99

7. mccombe35 Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:45 pm

   That '83 White Sox team had 2 pitchers win 22+ games. Guessing they are part of a very short list.

8. Corey Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:50 pm

   @ #5- The first comment is definitely correct. There have been some 14 game winners for the Pirates, but no 15 game winners since 1992.

9. donburgh Says:
   June 30th, 2011 at 1:55 pm

   As Max said, Ritchie won 15 in 1999.

   The team that jumps out at me is the 91 Angels. Three 18 game winners, yet they finished 81-81. Abbott, Finley and Langston started 34 games each, so that probably helped them make this list.

10. oneblankspace Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    My search result:

    For single seasons, Playing for the PIT, From 1992 to 2011, (requiring W>=15 and At least 14 Decisions), sorted by greatest franch_count
    Results

    [...]

    No seasons match your search

    Please let us know if this is an error

11. BSK Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    Oneblankespace... what is the point of including the "At least 14 decisions" parameter? I looked at Ritchie's game log to see if there was anything quirky about his W, perhaps coming in relief or in a rain shortened game or something that might have made it screwy... no dice. Not sure why you got nothing off the search. Then again, as Andy will attest, I'm the worst person to talk to about PI searches.

12. donburgh Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    Looks like an error to me-

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ritchto01.shtml

    BTW, about those '91 Angels, I forgot to mention that they finished last in the AL West with that .500 record.

13. Brian Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    I don't understand the Todd Ritchie error. I did this search:

    For single seasons, Playing for the PIT, From 1992 to 2011, (requiring W>=15), sorted by most recent date

    ...and got Drabek and Ritchie.

    Then again, maybe it got fixed in the last hour?

14. Fourfriends1679 Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    Nice list but check out those Orioles: from 1968 to 1980 (13 years in a row) they had at least one 20-game winner; 3 in 1970, 4 in 1971, 23 times overall IIRC, and nine different pitchers do it: Palmer, Cuellar,McNally, Torrez, Garland, Dobson, McGregor, Flanagan & Stone.

15. Corey Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 4:25 pm

    Haha maybe it's just user error. I didn't catch Ritchie in '95 for some reason.

16. Thomas Court Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    @7

    The 2002 Diamondbacks had two 23 game winners - Randy Johnson (24) and Curt Schilling (23).

    It's no surprise also that the Braves make the original post list four years in a row (1997-2000).

17. Zachary Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    I'm still trying to figure out how the 2002 Red Sox didn't make the playoffs when they Manny Ramirez at the peak of his powers, Nomar was still playing at an All-Star level, they had the two best pitchers in the American League (one the best period), and wonderful relief seasons from Wakefield, Urbina, and Embree.

18. Dukeofflatbush Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    Storm Davis' 1989 season was so bad, despite his 19-7 record.
    He is the only player in history to average 1 HR per 9IP, > a hit an inning, a WHIP of > 1.5 and still have a .700 winning percentage. factor in his 85 ERA+, and what a terrible 19 win season.

19. Drew Cobb Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 6:56 pm

    Re: Storm Davis. IMHO, he was the beneficiary of pitching on good teams. He himself was quite average.

    The Florida Marlins have won 2 World Series and have during those 2 seasons, no one pitcher won more than 17 games (Alex Fernandez in '97).

20. Liam Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    Remember when Ron Guidry was the best pitcher in baseball? Its like how Gooden exploded on to the scene. I know Koufax is untouchable, but Guidry was just as good has Koufax. Yes it was for a short time, but he was also a 2 time world champion, which is a lot more than any hall of famer who played for the cubs can say. Similarly, Don Mattingly was also a major force when considering who was the best player in baseball. Because of injury his career was shorted, and this should be taken into consideration when judging HOF. In his prime, he was HOF. So was Gudri

21. Mustachioed Repetition Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Storm Davis knew how to pitch to the score. He didn't exert a lot of extra effort trying to shut down the other team when he had a big lead. Why are you digging up fancy stats to keep him out of the HOF?

22. Dukeofflatbush Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    I don't like guys named Storm.
    Especially Storm Fields, from ABC.
    I wasn't fond of X-men's Storm either.
    But 169.1 IP in 31 starts. What score was he pitching to? The score in the 5th inning. I admire that.

23. Mustachioed Repetition Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 8:49 pm

    Well that's the most important inning. In the 1st inning there's no score. If you pitch to the 9th inning score, there's too little margin for error (even the great score-pitchers like Storm and Jack are human). So you see how many runs you have in the middle of the game, and then decide how much to bear down.

24. mccombe35 Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    Seeing the '93 White Sox up there reminded me how us White Sox fans were told we had the AL version of the Braves staff for years to come.

    '93 was pretty sweet.

    McDowell 22 - 10, 3.37. age 27 (CY)
    Fernandez 18 - 9, 3.13. age 23
    Alvarez 15 - 8, 2.95. age 23
    Bere 12 - 7, 3.47. age 22

    After that it didn't really pan out...... haha

25. mccombe35 Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    Edit: Bere was 12 - 5.

26. John Autin Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Out of curiosity, I did the same search as Andy but with an extra requirement of a 110 ERA+ or better.

    The number of teams with 2 such pitchers since 1973 fell from 67 to 44, and the number with 3 fell from 5 to 1 -- the '93 Braves.

27. John Autin Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Sorry, Steve -- "I did the same search as Steve, but...."

28. Steve Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    Wow.The 1990 Mets should have one 98 games according to Pyth but won only 91.Big swing.

29. Timmy P Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:22 pm

    Slightly off topic, Berkman homers from both sides of the plate tonight! The Puma with cat-like quickness.

30. Timmy P Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    Twisto you can hardly go a single thread without trying to bring me up, time to move on man!

31. Neil L. Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:41 pm

    @21 @23
    MR, are you bored with BBref? Timmy P., never thought I'd side with you on a post but nice call out.

    Storm Davis is not Jack Morris.

32. Steve Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    29 Mantle still the all time leader at that?

33. Neil L. Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    In an unrelated matter, it was hugely humiliating to the opposition fans, but tonight the Pirates won their first inter-league road series in 17 tries dating back to 2003.

34. Timmy P Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    @32 I would say either Mantle or Eddie Murray.

35. Ben Trotsky Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    @ 32

    Mantle is 3rd, iirc. Too many complete game pitchers back then. 1st is Murray and 2nd is ... Chili Davis.

36. John Autin Says:
    June 30th, 2011 at 11:57 pm

    Neil @33 -- No shame in losing to a winning team!

    Pirates were already 2 games over .500 on the road before they hit Toronto.

37. Mustachioed Repetition Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 12:03 am

    Timmy, I didn't see anyone refer to you in any way. So, get over yourself.

38. Timmy P Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 12:09 am

    @37 Just trying to help, you're turning in to a bore, and that's worse than being stupid!

39. Gerry Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 1:04 am

    @20, Liam, Tinker-Evers-Chance and Mordecai Brown were two-time world champs who played for the Cubs.

40. Timmy P Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 1:28 am

    @39 Frank Chance got into the HoF 12 years earlier than Wahoo Sam Crawford and Chance has less than 1300 career hits. Really a crime.

41. Mustachioed Repetition Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 1:30 am

    you're turning in to a bore, and that's worse than being stupid!

    For your sake, I certainly hope so.

42. Mustachioed Repetition Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 1:33 am

    Crawford has less than 1 career managerial victory.

43. John Autin Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 1:46 am

    I hate to see my friends quarrel ... Why not check out my 2011 WAR-Stars and pick on me instead? Tell me how I blew the picks.
    http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/12442

44. Dave Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 9:20 am

    @20...Yankee fan I presume? 🙂

45. Liam Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    @39 i meant this century... i should have specified

46. Ganderson Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    #17 - I think Randy Johnson's 2002 season is every bit as good as Pedro's, and probably better.

47. Hector Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    I like the 5 teams which had 3 18-game winners. Four won their divisions, and the '91 Angels came in last.

48. Dukeofflatbush Says:
    July 1st, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    @ 23
    Mis-lassoed partition -

    I didn't think of that. The pivotal 5th inning. The hinge! forget slamming the door - lets open the thing first!!!

49. Zachary Says:
    July 2nd, 2011 at 1:42 am

    @46 That's definitely arguable, but I think that most people would agree that Johnson's biggest advantage was volume. Personally, I would say that Pedro's edge in quality on the hill (an edge I'd give him against anyone in baseball history) trumped Johnson's greater amount of time spent on it, but I think it's fair to just call it a wash. Since Martinez had been the best pitcher in baseball over the previous 5-6 years, I think it's not unreasonable to give him the "tie goes to the runner" edge.

    Either way, fair point. Randy Johnson is truly an all-time great and deserves more recognition than he tends to get.

50. Thomas Court Says:
    July 2nd, 2011 at 3:36 am

    @49

    I am gonna have to politefully disagree - at least as far as the 2002 season is concerned. I see no problem if you want to give Pedro the edge over the previous seasons (although RJ was no slouch himself winning 3 consecutive Cy Young Awards).

    But in 2002, their numbers were razor close, (ERA+ has Pedro ahead 202 to 197) - but with Johnson pitching an additional 60.2 innings. That is 7+ additional starts. I would rather have the guy who is toeing the mound for more than an extra month's worth of innings.

51. Thomas Court Says:
    July 2nd, 2011 at 3:47 am

    Now remember Zachary, you are comparing RJ's best WAR season (8.8) with Pedro's sixth best WAR season (5.7) so there is no shine off of Pedro's stellar career to concede the 2002 season to the Big Unit.

    Although it is interesting to extrapolate the comparison over the entire careers of both pitchers.

52. Zachary Says:
    July 2nd, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    I think we're just defining things differently. Johnson has a better season in terms of production, but I think Pedro was more brilliant when he actually took the hill. If you're asking yourself, "Would I rather have '02 Johnson or '02 Pedro?", the answer very much depends on whether you're talking for a season, for a series, or for a single game. I tend to base my terms like "best" on the final category.

    I'll absolutely concede that Johnson had a better season overall. No question about it.

53. Frank Clingenpeel Says:
    July 2nd, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    one word of warning about being boring, or stupid;

    Occaisions of either make a person human. Too much of either makes him {or her} both; continuously dwelling on past performance maikes you a royal pain in the touchis.

    Learn it, Moustachio and Timmy. Live it.