Red Ruffing Award
Hall of fame pitcher Red Ruffing was a very good hitting pitcher and topped .300 eight times.
The Yankees often used Ruffing as a pinch-hitter. Ruffing has more career pinch-hits than any other Yankee.
Here are the final stats for the 2011 Red Ruffing award:
Runs
Yovanni Gallardo Milwaukee 10
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles 10
Carlos Zambrano Chicago 8
Homer Bailey Cincinnati 7
Mike Leake Cincinnati 7
Ryan Vogelsong San Francisco 7
Hits
Daniel Hudson Arizona 18
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles 16
Yovanni Gallardo Milwaukee 15
Cliff Lee Philadelphia 15
Carlos Zambrano Chicago 14
Doubles
Jonathan Sanchez San Francisco 4
Derek Lowe Atlanta 4
Madison Bumgarner San Francisco 4
Yovanni Gallardo Milwaukee 4
Triples
C J Wilson Texas 1
Casey Coleman Chicago 1
Dontrelle Willis Cincinnati 1
Jon Niese New York 1
Cole Hamels Philadelphia 1
Home Runs
Kevin Millwood Colorado 2
Zach Duke Arizona 2
Carlos Zambrano Chicago 2
Cliff Lee Philadelphia 2
Grand Slam Home Run
Shaun Marcum Milwaukee 1
Jake Westbrook St Louis 1
Runs Batted in
Daniel Hudson Arizona 14
Jake Westbrook St Louis 8
Livan Hernandez Washington 7
Derek Lowe Atlanta 7
Cliff Lee Philadelphia 7
Stolen Bases
Zack Greinke Milwaukee 1
Ted Lilly Los Angeles 1
Cliff Lee Philadelphia 1
Batting Average
Dontrelle Willis Cincinnati .387
Carlos Zambrano Chicago .318
Homer Bailey Cincinnati .282
Daniel Hudson Arizona .277
Ryan Vogelsong San Francisco . 226
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles .225
Vance Worley Philadelphia .222
Yovanni Gallardo Milwaukee .221
On Base Percentage
Dontrelle Willis Cincinnati .387
Carlos Zambrano Chicago .348
Daniel Hudson Arizona .309
Homer Bailey Cincinnati .300
Ryan Vogelsong San Francisco .268
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles .267
Cory Luebke San Diego .257
Hardest to Strike Out PA SO Pct
Livan Hernandez Washington 61 2 30.5
Dontrelle Willis Cincinnati 34 4 11.7
Javier Vazquez Florida 67 10 6.7
Zack Greinke Milwaukee 59 9 6.5
R A Dickey New York 69 11 6.2
Jhoulys Chacin Colorado 68 12 5.6
Wandy Rodriguez Houston 67 12 5.5
Sacrifice Hits
Roy Halladay Philadelphia 16
Livan Hernandez Washington 15
Jason Hammel Colorado 14
Shaun Marcum Milwaukee 12
Jordan Zimmerman Washington 11
Charlie Morton Pittsburgh 11
Bud Norris Houston 11
Ricky Nolasco Florida 11
Daniel Hudson Arizona 11
Madison Bumgarner San Francisco 11
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles 11
Winner
Daniel Hudson Arizona
Tom Zocco
A Pitcher Going Ten Or More Innings In A Game, A Thing Of The Past.
Every game today has a pitch count. If a pitcher reaches 100 pitches the bullpen starts warming up. If the count goes above 120 the pitcher will usually be taken out. There is fear he will ruin his arm. Pitchers are throwing less innings and many still seem to be put on the disabled list for various reasons.
Today, a pitcher going 10 innings in a game is unheard of.
This has not been accomplished since 2007, when Roy Halliday pitched 10 innings for Toronto and Aaron Harang pitched 10 innings for Cincinnati.
At one time, it was not uncommon for a starting pitcher to stay in a game if the game went 10 innings or more.
Here are the leading pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched in a game 1950-2011:
Gaylord Perry 37
Robin Roberts 21
Warren Spahn 20
Jim Palmer 20
Billy Pierce 17
Tom Seaver 17
Bob Gibson 17
Phil Niekro 16
Jim Bunning 16
Nolan Ryan 15
Don Drysdale 15
Bert Blyleven 15
Ned Garver 14
Ferguson Jenkins 14
Curt Simmons 14
Steve Carlton 13
Rick Wise 13
Luis Tiant 13
Jim Kaat 13
Gaylord Perry 37:
Gaylord Perry pitched 10 or more innings in a game 36 times as a starter and once as a relief pitcher. He did it with five different teams: Giants 15, Indians 14, Rangers 4, Padres 2, Mariners 2
Robin Roberts 21:
Roberts pitched 300 or more innings 6 years in a row.
Roberts won games in which he pitched 15 and 17 innings
Warren Spahn 20:
Spahn did it 4 times in 1961 when he was 40 years old. He was 43 years old when he lost a game 1-0 in 16 innings to Juan Marichal and the Giants in 1963. Spahn won his first game in 1946. His career totals do not include 1946-1949.
Joe Torre caught Spahn in some of these games but was very quick with the hook as a manager.
Jim Palmer 20:
Palmer pitched 10, 11, and 12 inning games without allowing a walk
Billy Pierce 20:
In1957 Pierce won two ten inning 1-0 games
Tom Seaver 17:
In six of these games, Seaver did not allow any earned runs.
Bob Gibson 17:
Gibson pitched twelve or more innings in a game 6 times.
Imagine Bob Gibson’s reaction if a manager said to him “Gibby I’m taking you out!”
Phil NIekro 16:
Being a knuckle ball pitcher helped. Why do today’s knuckle ball pitchers have a pitch count?
Jim Bunning 16:
From 1958-1967, Bunning pitched 10 innings in a game at least once each season.
Nolan Ryan 15:
Throwing as hard as Nolan Ryan did, his arm somehow survived 27 years of pitching.
Don Drysdale 15:
In 5 extra inning games, Drysdale struck out at least 10 batters
Bert Blyleven 15:
Blyleven pitched at least 10 shutout innings in a game six times.
Ned Garver 14:
In 1951 Garver won 20 games for the last place St Louis Browns. He had to pitch 10 innings for one of those wins. Garver’s career began in 1948, so his totals are probably higher if 1948 & 1949 are added.
Ferguson Jenkins 14:
Jenkins did not walk more than three batters in any of these games.
Curt Simmons 14:
In his final season, 1967, Simmons pitched eleven innings in a game for the Cubs.
Steve Carlton 13:
Carlton struck out at least 12 batters in 4 of those games.
Rick Wise 13:
Wise pitched 10 innings in a game for the Phillies, Cardinals, Red Sox and Indians
Luis Tiant 13:
In one 10 inning game, Tiant struck out 19 and did not walk a batter.
Jim Kaat 13:
Kaat pitched 3 extra-inning complete game shutouts. In 1980 a 41 year old Kaat shut out the Mets 1-0 in 10 innings!
Kaat pitched in the major leagues for 25 years!
Now, pitchers are being paid more and pitching less. Today’s managers should consult the living members of this list and ask them how they were able to accomplish this without any problems.
Tom Zocco
Tony Cloninger
Tony Cloninger pitched in the Major Leagues from 1961-1972 for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and the St Louis Cardinals. His career record is 113-97.
His best years were with the Milwaukee Braves winning 19 games in 1964 and 24 games in 1965. His 24 wins are the most wins in a season by a Milwaukee Braves pitcher.
In 1966 his wins dropped to 14. However, he was amazing with the bat that year. During a two month stretch he did the following:
June 16 : Three hits, two of which were home runs and five runs batted in!
June 20: Two singles and two runs batted in.
July 3: Three hits, two of which were grand-slam home runs and nine runs batted in!
That’s sixteen runs batted in in a seventeen day span
July 14: Two hits one of them a double and one run batted in.
July 29: Two hits, a double and a home run and two runs batted in.
August 2: Two singles
August 15: Two singles.
Cloninger even stole a base that year.
Injuries caused Cloninger to miss much of the next season. A year after that the Braves traded him to the Reds at the trading deadline.
Cloninger was never the same pitcher again, but will always be remembered as the first player in the National League to hit two grand-slam home runs in the same game.
Tom Zocco
The Amazing Satchel Paige
Today, if a relief pitcher pitches in two consecutive games there is concern about his arm. He will usually not pitch for one or two days after that.
Matt Belisle led all relief pitchers with 92 innings pitched for the Colorado Rockies last year. It took him 76 games to pitch those 92 innings.
Let us go back to 1952
After a long career in the Negro Leagues, and two seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige was now pitching in relief and sometimes starting for the St Louis Browns.
Less than three weeks before his forty-sixth birthday, June 20 1952, Paige relieved in the seventh inning of a game against the Washington Senators and pitched ten shutout
innings . He allowed only five hits. The game ended in an eighteen inning 5-5 tie.
Less than two weeks later, 7/1/52, Paige pitched 10 /2/3 innings in relief against the Cleveland Indians. In the first ten innings he did not allow a run. He lost the game when he allowed two runs in the nineteenth inning.
On 8/6/52, Paige started against the Detroit Tigers and pitched a twelve inning complete game shutout, winning 1-0!
In those three games Paige pitched 32 2/3 innings, allowing only 20 hits and two runs.
A starting pitcher going ten innings in a game is now unheard of. Paige did it once as a starter and twice as a reliever in the same season.
Amazing!
Tom Zocco
Leading pitchers as hitters 2010
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Hall of fame pitcher Red Ruffing was a very good hitting pitcher and topped .300 eight times.
Here are the final stats for the Red Ruffing award:
Runs
Randy Wolf Milwaukee 11
Joe Blanton Philadelphia 8
Jaime Garcia St Louis 8
Dan Haren Arizona 8
R A Dickey New York 7
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 7
Ian Kennedy Arizona 7
Hits
Dan Haren Arizona 20
Randy Wolf Milwaukee 19
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 16
Mike Leake Cincinnati 16
Chris Narveson Milwaukee 16
Tim Hudson Atlanta 15
Adam Wainwright St Louis 14
Doubles
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Dan Haren Arizona 6
Adam Wainwright St Louis 5
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 4
Tim Hudson Atlanta 4
Derek Lowe Atlanta 4
Randy Wolf Milwaukee 4
Triples
Brian Burres Pittsburgh 1
Travis Wood Cincinnati 1
Jonathan Sanchez San Francisco 1
Home Runs
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 4
Grand Slam Home Run
Brad Penny St Louis 1
Runs Batted in
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 10
Bronson Arroyo Cincinnati 8
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Dan Haren Arizona 7
Chris Narveson Milwaukee 7
Barry Enright Arizona 6
Daniel Hudson Arizona 6
Craig Stammen Washington 6
Adam Wainwright St Louis 6
Carlos Zambrano Chicago(N) 6
Bases On Balls
Jon Niese New York(N) 8
Ian Kennedy Arizona 7
Adam Wainwright St Louis 7
Jon Garland Arizona 6
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 5
Mike Leake Cincinnati 5
Derek Lowe Atlanta 5
Stolen Bases
Daniel McCutchen Pittsburgh 1
Joe Saunders Arizona 1
Randy Wolf Milwaukee 1
Batting Average
Dan Haren Arizona .364
Mike Leake Cincinnati .333
Chris Narveson Milwaukee .327
Wade LeBlanc San Diego .295
R. A. Dickey New York(N) .255
On Base Percentage
Mike Leake Cincinnati .407
Dan Haren Arizona .375
Chris Narveson Milwaukee .365
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee .329
Wade LeBlanc San Diego .311
Sacrifice Hits
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles(N) 18
Ryan Dempster Chicago(N) 16
Barry Zito San Francisco 14
Tim Lincecum San Francisco 13
Hiroki Kuroda Los Angeles(N) 11
Derek Lowe Atlanta 11
Brett Myers Houston 11
Roy Oswalt Houston-Philadelphia 11
Hit By Pitch
Joe Blanton Philadelphia 2
Yovani Gallardo Milwaukee 2
Although he spent over two months in the American league, this year’s winner of the Red Ruffing award is: Dan Haren.
Mickey McDermott
Maurice “Mickey” McDermott was a hard throwing left handed pitcher from 1948-1961 for six different teams.
On
7/13/51 McDermott pitched the first seventeen innings in a nineteen
inning game for the Boston Red Sox . Two weeks later 7/28/51 McDermott
pitched sixteen innings in a game and struck out fifteen.
Did this
ruin his arm? Two years later, McDermott had his best season going
18-10 for the Boston Red Sox. He pitched 10 innings in two of those
wins. In one of his victories, that season, McDermott had
four hits and scored three runs as he defeated the World Champion, New
York Yankees.
Although this was a very good season, McDermott, a
free spirit, insulted Jean Yawkey, wife of owner Tom Yawkey. He was
traded to the Washington Senators several months after the season ended.
The deal turned out to be a good one tor the Red Sox, as they received
Jackie Jensen in the trade. Jensen had five seasons where he drove in
100 or more runs for the Red Sox.
McDermott slipped to 7-15 for the Senators in 1954 and won ten 10 games for the them in 1955
Traded to the New York Yankees he pitched for the World Champion Yankees in 1956.
After bouncing around with three teams after that, his career ended with a 69-69 won lost record.
Besides his 4 hit game in 1953, McDermott had three hits in a game on seven other occasions during his career.
What could McDermott have done had he taken life seriously.
Tom Zocco
Gaylord Perry
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During 2007 in separate games, Roy Halladay pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays and Aaron Harang pitching for the Cincinnati Reds pitched 10 innings in a game. This has not been accomplished since.
Often, a pitcher will be taken out as early as the sixth inning, if the first batter in that inning gets on base. It will take from three to five pitchers to finish the game.
In 1962, Gaylord Perry came on in relief for the San Francisco Giants in the thirteenth inning, in a game against the New York Mets. He pitched the final 10 innings in relief and the Giants won the game 8-6 in 23 innings. Did this ruin his arm? He went on to win 20 games in a season 5 times. He pitched 300 or more innings 5 times and won the Cy Young award in both leagues.
He is the last National League pitcher to throw 15 or more innings in a game, hurling 16 against the Cincinnati Reds in 1967. Who is the last pitcher to pitch as many as 15 innings in a game in the American League? Answer, Gaylord Perry. Perry did it for the Cleveland Indians in 1974. Perry pitched 10 or more innings in a game 36 times during his career! He did it at least twice for the Giants, Indians, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. Each team was not afraid to use him in extra innings. What did Perry do to keep his arm in shape? It would b interesting to see the pitch counts in each of his extra inning games. Today’s pitchers are bigger and stronger. Why do they spend more time on the disabled list? If they are pitching less innings, they should be spending less time on the disabled list.
Tom Zocco
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