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February 25
Phillies steal Steve Carlton from Cardinals
February 25, 1972, the St. Louis Cardinals traded future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Rick Wise. The trade will prove to be one of the best in the history of the Philadelphia franchise, as Carlton will win an incredible 27 games for the last-place Phillies in 1972. During the next 15 years with the Phillies, Carlton will win 241 games and four Cy Young awards, 3 Top 5 MVP finishes, win a triple crown, and become a 7-time All-Star. He helped take a team that finished 37 games out of first to a perennial contender from 1976 - 1983, as the Phillies won 6 NL East crowns, 2 National League pennants, and the 1980 World Series, which is one of two truly successful times in the 142-year history of the Phillies.
Wise, who was coming off his best year, 17 wins, 2.88 ERA, and an All-Star, had one of the best games in history as a starter in 1971; on June 23 of that year, he pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds and hit two home runs in the game, becoming the first pitcher ever to homer in his own no-hitter. Wise was solid for two years in St Louis and went on to top his 17 wins with 19 with the 1975 Red Sox, he will earn his only Cy Young recognition that year. Wise will end his career with 188 wins and a 3.69 ERA over 18 seasons.
At the time of the trade, there was some history between Gussie Busch, the Cardinals owner, and Carlton. A contract dispute with the Cardinals (he had made $26,000 in 1969 and was holding out for $50,000, as opposed to the Cardinals' contract offer for $31,000) made Carlton a no-show at spring training in 1970, which was eventually settled with a two-year contract of $80,000. He proceeded to go 10–19 with a 3.73 ERA, leading the NL in losses. In 1971, Carlton rebounded, going 20–9 with a 3.56 ERA, his first of six 20–win seasons.
Going into the 1972 Season, Carlton, at 26, a 3-time All-Star, had established himself with 77 wins, a 3.10 ERA, a World Series winner, and a durable pitcher averaging 33 starts the last four years. He asked for $65,000, and the Cardinals offered $55,000. Busch feared another holdout, order trade, and the Phillies, as you will hear, jumped all over it in a few days and a few phone calls. According to salary records on Baseball reference, Carlton got his $65,000 from Philadelphia.
At the time, the trade made sense from the Cardinals' perspective. Carlton had won 77 games to Wise's 75, and both were considered among the game's best pitchers. Tim McCarver, who had caught for Carlton in St. Louis and Wise in Philadelphia (and would later become Carlton's catcher again with the Phillies), described the trade at the time as "a real good one for a real good one." He felt Carlton had more raw talent, but Wise had better command on the mound.
Carlton in his first season with Philly, Carlton won 27 games for the last-place club. His percentage of the team wins, 46%, is the highest in baseball history. He paced NL pitchers in wins, ERA (1.98), innings, complete games (30), and K's (310) winning the triple crown. He became the first Cy Young award winner on a last place team and was 5th in NL MVP voting. Wise went 16-16 with a 3.10 ERA.
Some highlights of Carlton's 1972 season included starting the season with five wins and one loss, then losing five games in a row, during which period the Phillies scored only 10 runs. At this point, he began a 15–game winning streak. After it ended at a 20–6 record, he finished the final third of the year with seven more wins and four losses, ending with 27 wins and 10 losses. Carlton also completed 30 of 41 starts.
During the 18 games of the winning streak (three were no-decisions), Carlton pitched 155 innings, allowed 103 hits and 28 runs (only 17 in the 15 winning games), allowed 39 walks, and had 140 strikeouts. From July 23, 1972, to August 13, 1972, he pitched five complete-game victories, allowed only one unearned run while only giving up 22 hits in 45 innings, and threw four shutouts. Carlton's slider was basically unhittable.
"Auggie Busch traded me to the last-place Phillies over a salary dispute," reflected Carlton on his 1972 season. "I was mentally committed to winning 25 games with the Cardinals, and now I had to re-think my goals. I decided to stay with the 25-win goal and won 27 of the Phillies' 59 victories. I consider that season my finest individual achievement."
Ironically, Wise ended up getting more than Carlton from the Cardinals. Looking back, the trade is considered one of the worst trades in Cardinal's history and one of the most lopsided trades in all of baseball history
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Trivia:
Steve Carlton was the first lefty to surpass 3,000 strikeouts and for two seasons he had a back and forth race with Nolan Ryan for the All time lead. To get there in 1983 he passed three pitchers. Who were they?
Hint: The answer is below
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February 25, 1919, future Hall of Famer Monte Irvin is born in Columbia, Alabama. Playing in the Negro leagues during his prime, talented Monte Irvin made it to the majors in 1949 with the Giants. Despite his years in the shadows, Irvin still enjoyed a fine career, finishing among league leaders in many offensive categories in 1951 and 1953, his best seasons in the majors. In 1951 he paced the National League in RBI, helping the Giants to the pennant. Irvin will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1973.
February 25, 1933 — Four days after turning thirty years old and acquiring a $7 million dollar inheritance from his step-father, Tom Yawkey purchases the Red Sox from Robert Quinn for $1.2 million. The acquisition of the Boston American League franchise, which lasts for 44 years, the longest by a sole owner in baseball history, is prompted by former school classmate and Hall of Fame infielder Eddie Collins, who will serve as the team’s general manager until 1947. Yawkey will mostly become known as the owner for the team that integrated last and the failure of his teams to capture a World Series.
February 25, 1939 in Corona, CA . . . Denny Lemaster seemed on the brink of stardom through most of his 11-season ML career but never quite fulfilled his early promise. Signed by the Braves for a $60,000 bonus in 1958, the hard-throwing lefty fanned 11 straight batters for Jacksonville in 1959 and led the Texas League in strikeouts the next year. After going 10-4 in half a season at Louisville and apparently overcoming his early control problems, he joined the Braves' rotation in mid-season. He struck out 190 with a 3.04 era in 1963 and went 17-11 in 1964. The next year he developed a sore arm which bothered him intermittently through the rest of his career. Traded to Houston in 1968, he continued to show flashes of brilliance and record excellent strikeout totals until his arm problems ended his effectiveness in 1971.
February 25, 1946 — Back from the military, Ted Williams hits the first spring training pitch he sees for a home run.
February 25, 1972, the St. Louis Cardinals trade future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Rick Wise. The trade will prove to be one of the best in the history of the Philadelphia franchise, as Carlton will win an amazing 27 games for the last-place Phillies in 1972. During his career with the Phillies, Carlton will win 241 games and four Cy Young awards. Carlton will also help the Phils win 6 NL East crowns, 2 National League pennants, and the 1980 World Series.
February 25, 1994 -- Former Houston manager Leo Durocher is selected by the Veterans Committee into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Yankee legend Phil Rizzuto.
February 25, 2002 -- 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell announces this season will be his last as Detroit Tigers radio play-by-play announcer. The winner of the 1981 Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence has worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles before moving to Detroit during his 62-year career behind a microphone.
Quote of the day:
"Carlton does not pitch to the hitter, he pitches through him. The batter hardly exists for Steve. He's playing an elevated game of catch." -
Tim McCarver, Carlton's personal catcher
MILESTONES
Birthday Boys!
Al Hollingsworth, Andy Pafko, Cesar Cedeno, Danny Cater, Denny LeMaster, John Schaive, Monte Irvin and Ron Santo
Passings.
Cal Abrams, Dave Nicholson, Don LeJohn and John McGraw
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Trivia Answer: Entering the 1983 season, three pitchers were within 100 strikeouts of Walter Johnson's record of 3,508, a mark "The Big Train" had held since topping Cy Young's 2,803 in 1921. Closing in on the record, Nolan Ryan was second, 14 away, Gaylord Perry third, 56 away, and Carlton fourth, 74 back. Though Ryan was the first to pass Johnson, by the end of the year Carlton's huge 275 strikeout season surpassed first Perry, then Johnson, and finally Ryan, 3,709 to 3,677, to take the overall lead. Perry, who was in his final season, was never again a factor, though he too would surpass Johnson before retiring with 3,534 strikeouts.
