Tom Glavine Gets 300th Win
New York Mets' Lefty May Be the Last Pitcher to Reach Magic Number
In an era of incredible hitting, Tom Glavine wins one for the pitchers. He may be the last to do it, however.
On Sunday, August 5, 2007, Tom Glavine became the newest member of Major League Baseball's 300 Win Club. With a strong performance that shut down a surging Chicago Cubs offense for 6 1/3 innings on the way to an 8-3 victory, Glavine did what no other pitcher may ever do again: notch his 300th career victory.
"If I was the last one, I guess it would be pretty cool to be the last one to do something in the game," he said Sunday night. "It wasn't a dazzling performance in terms of striking people out. It was an exercise in hitting my spots and changing speeds and letting the guys behind me do their work," he said with a look of relief on his face.
Glavine (10-6) became the first 300-game winner since former Atlanta teammate Greg Maddux reached the milestone in 2004 while with the Cubs.
Why Glavine May Be the Last to 300 Wins
Among active pitchers, Randy Johnson has the most wins of any pitcher with 284. The Big Unit, however, is out for the rest of the season after having back surgery in July. Furthermore, Johnson turns 44 years old on September 10th, so the odds of him winning another sixteen games are starting to get pretty long.
The next closest on the list is Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees, who has 246 wins. The Moose is only 38, but he seems to have lost a step this year (7-7, 4.66 ERA, .295 BAA), so his chances of winning 54 more games seem even more remote than Johnson's.
Among younger pitchers, the chances of joining the 300 Win Club are virtually impossible. Here's why.
Five Man Rotations. Among members of the 300 Win Club, only Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine pitched exclusively in the era of the five man pitching rotation. Accordingly, today's starting pitchers only get 33 starts a season, whereas those who pitched in four man rotations averaged 41 starts a year. Over a fifteen year career, that adds up to 120 more starts. Over twenty years, it's 160. That's a lot of starts to give up when you are trying to win 300 games.
Specialized Bullpens. Modern day pitching staffs carry as many as seven relief pitchers. They have long relief men, middle relief hurlers, lefty specialists, set-up men and closers. All of this means that starters in the modern game are much more likely to get yanked from a ballgame than their predecessors. Shorter appearances lead to less decisions, which leads to less wins.
Better Hitters and Smaller Ballparks. Weight lifting. Performance enhancing substances. Lighter, harder baseball balls. Tightly wound baseballs. Power alleys that measure 375 feet. All of that leads to more runs given up, shorter pitching appearances, tougher at-bats, and LESS WINS.
Considering all that is stacked up against modern day pitchers, it is very likely that no other pitcher (except perhaps Johnson, if he can get healthy) will get to 300 wins.
Glavine's Career Numbers
Career Record: 300-197
Career ERA: 3.49
Career Strikeouts: 2,544
Cy Young Awards: 2 (1991 and 1998 with the Atlanta Braves)
Postseason Record: 13-11, 3.42 ERA in 35 starts
The Greatest Pitching Staff Ever?
From 1993 through 2002, the Atlanta Braves pitching staff featured Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. As of August 6, 2007, Maddux has 340 career wins, Glavine has 300 and Smoltz has 203. They won seven Cy Young Awards among them from 1991 to 1998. Smoltz also collected 154 Saves when he took a three year hiatus from the starting rotation and played the closer role for the Braves. All three are locks for the Hall of Fame, and look at the combined records they put up during their decade of exellence:
1993: 57-27
1994: 35-25
1995: 47-16
1996: 54-29
1997: 48-23
1998: 55-18
1999: 44-28
2000: 40-18 (Smoltz missed entire season)
2001: 36-21, 10 Saves
2002: 37-19, 55 Saves
That is one heck of a ten year run. It may be the best ever.
