A Brief History of Baseball's 300 Game Winners
Randy Johnson Joins an Elite Club with his 300th Win
Jun 9, 2009
On June 4, 2009, 45-year old lefthander Randy Johnson won his 300th game, making him the 24th member of baseball’s most elite pitchers’ club. In addition to being the most recent member, Johnson, at six feet, ten inches tall, is by far, the tallest pitcher to reach 300 wins, which is fitting, considering that the first 300-game winner, who accomplished the feat more than 130 years ago, is the shortest member of the club. Here is a brief history of the 300 win club.
19th Century 300-Game Winners
The first pitcher to reach 300 wins was James “Pud” Galvin. The diminutive Galvin (also nicknamed "The Little Steam Engine") accomplished the feat June 4, 1888 while pitching for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys against the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Galvin, who stood five feet, eight inches tall, pitched in an era when the two-man pitching rotation was in vogue. During his eighteen-year career, Galvin threw more than 600 innings twice and more than 400 innings in nine different seasons.
Galvin was followed to 300 by Timothy Keefe (1890), Mickey Welch (1890), John Clarkson (1892), and Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn (1893). Charles "Kid" Nichols of the Boston Beaneaters was the last pitcher to reach 300 wins before the dawn of baseball's so-called modern age, which unoffically began with the introduction of the American League in 1901.
Early 20th Century 300-Game Winners
That year, while working for the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox), Cy Young won his 300th game, and then went on to win 211 more. Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants reached the milestone in 1912, and Eddie Plank of the Philadelphia Athletics won his 300th in 1915.
The 1920s saw the addition of two more old time legends to the club, Walter Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander, who made it in 1920 and 1924, respectively.
Long Droughts Between 300-Game Winners
Over the next 58 years, only Lefty Grove (1941), Warren Spahn (1961) and Early Wynn (1963) reached the 300-win mark. It must be noted, however, that World War II interrrupted the careers of many a fine pitcher. Perhaps the most affected was Bob Feller, who missed almost four seasons between 1942 and 1945, yet still won 266 games in his career. Considering that he won 25 games in 1941 and 26 in 1946, there is little doubt that Feller would have easily surpassed 300 wins.
Six New Members in Eight Years (1982-1990)
Gaylord Perry broke a nineteen-year drought when he beat the New York Yankees on May 6, 1982 for win No. 300. He was followed by Steve Carlton in 1983, Tom Seaver and Phil Neikro in 1985 and Don Sutton in 1986. Fastball legend Nolan Ryan joined the club 1990.
Recent 300-Game Winners
Despite the advent of the five-man pitching rotation, which became popular in the late 1970s, and which cut down a pitcher's average starts by six or seven games a season, a handful of outstanding hurlers have still been able to reach the mark. Before Randy Johnson hit the magic number last week, Roger Clemens (in 2003), Greg Maddux (2004) and Tom Glavine (2007) all surpassed 300 career victories.
Who's Next to 300 Wins?
As of June 9, 2009, the active pitchers who are closest to 300 wins are Jaime Moyer (250 wins) and Andy Pettitte (221 wins). Given that Moyer is almost 47 years old and needs 50 wins, and that Pettitte is 37 and has been playing under one-year contracts for the past three years (thus indicating that he may not want to be around much longer), it could be a long while before anyone wins 300 games again.
