Bleacher Report - Articles by Don Cable

Whatever Happened To The Complete Game?

Don Cable — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:59:43 -0400

When I signed on the Internet the morning after Game One of the World Series, I saw this picture and realized that Cliff Lee finished what he started. Pitchers finishing what they started has become an increasingly rare occurrence.

The safest record in baseball and probably any other sport, is not Cy Young's 511 career wins, but his 750 complete games. Taking away his 30 wins in relief meant he completed at least 269 games he did not win. Babe Ruth finished 107 of his 163 starts and if there would have been a designated hitter, he may have challenged Young, but I doubt it; that was the Deadball Era.

Since baseball expanded to 24 teams in 1969, complete games have dramatically declined from 982 in 1969, to 893 in 1979, to 483 in 1989, to 236 in 1999, to 152 in 2009.

Some highly ranked pitchers career starts and complete games are the following:

Cliff Lee 190/13

Tim Lincecum 89/6

Roy Hallday 287/49

CC Sabbathnia 288/28

Roy Oswalt 271/18

John Beckett 225/9

There are several reasons for this:

1. The rise of THE closer

In order for the Phillies to beat the Yankees, as they did not in Game Two. is not to get to Mariano Rivera, with only one blown save in the playoffs. At almost the age of Brett Favre, Rivera looked like he could close games until he is 50.

Since Nolan Ryan in 1999, no starting pitcher has been inducted into The Hail of Fame. Closers Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, and Goose Gossage have all been inducted. It makes me wonder if I was a GM and had the next pick in the draft and if those three, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris and Frank Viola were available, who I would pick? Brad Lidge has not had nearly as good a year this year then he did last year.

Of course every team has its closer, many of whom make a lot more money than their No. 1 starter, like Cincinnati's Francesco Cordero makes a lot more than Aaron Harang. It is almost like it is illegal to have anyone else finish a game with less than a four run lead.

When the Padres were in the 1998 World Series, fans were holding up signs saying "Trevor Time," Bang, Bang, Bang. See you later Trevor;he made $6 million last season in Milwaukee.

2. The Quick hook

When Sparky Anderson managed the Reds in the World Series, he was known as "Captain Hook," for quickly removing pitchers. In 1976, 33 of the Reds' 102 wins were complete games. In 2009 the Giants led the majors with 11.

In 1968, the year of the pitcher, the Giants had 77, Most teams carry more pitchers than they used to carry. Everyone has a "situational lefthander." It is not uncommon for teams to use at least six pitchers in a nine inning game.

3. The pitch count

In Game Four of the 1975 World Series, Luis Tiant made 163 pitches to go the distance in a 5-4 game, something that would be unthinkable now. It seems that players get more credit for making an out after a 10 pitch at-bat, than a sharp single on the first pitch. It seems that almost everyone is on a pitch count.

In times past almost no pitcher was removed while throwing a shutout. The Dodgers led MLB in team ERA, had nine shutouts and one complete game. Almost every team carries five starters, so not many pitchers are complaining of overwork in the big money era. But it seems that there are just as many, if not more pitchers on the Disabled List.

4. Smaller ballparks

Most new ballparks are "short porch" ballparks, ala Wrigley Field and Yankee stadium. A lot of home runs are hit that used to be outs or extra base hits.

Remembering the '76 Cincinnati Reds

Don Cable — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:40:54 -0400

Johnny Bench will be 62 this year. Pete Rose was thrown out of baseball 20 years ago. Sparky Anderson is an old man with three rings from two leagues. The team had two losing seasons from 1961-81—six less than they have had since 2000. For a team whose future still seems a ways off, Reds' fans can remember the glorious summer of 1976.

Since going to a League Championship Series in 1969, only one team has swept the LCS and World Series in the same year—the 1976 Reds. And they seemed to do it on cruise control.

Floundering near the .500 mark in early 1975, Anderson put Rose at third base. The team went on a tear and ended the regular season with 108 wins. They swept the Pirates in the LCS.

Then came Luis Tiant. Tiant beat the Reds in games one and four. They had him beat in game six, when the Reds' first draftee (Bench was the second), Bernie Carbo hit a three run home run in the eighth.

Three innings later, Carlton Fisk hits the most over shown replay in sports' history off the foul pole. The next night the Reds score four runs in the last four innings to win their first of nine consecutive World Series games.

In 1976, Bench had a bad back and hit only .234. It didn't matter. Bob Howsam made one of his few bad trades, sending Clay "the Hawk" Carroll to the White Sox. It still didn't matter. They won 102 games and led the league in the following categories: (Baseball Encyclopedia, ninth ed.)

Runs: 857 Doubles: 271 Triples: 63 Home Runs: 141 Batting Average: .280 Stolen Bases: 210 Fielding Average: .984 (13 less errors than No. 2 Philadelphia) and Saves: 45.

George Foster led the league in RBIs with 121, batting sixth. Eighth batter Cesar Geronimo hit 307. Joe Morgan won the MVP, batting .320, scoring 113 runs, batting in 111, drawing 114 walks, and stealing only 41 bases.

No pitcher won more than 15 games—seven won at least 11. Bench, Morgan, Concepcion, and Geronimo won gold gloves. Tony Perez had an ordinary season 19/91/.260 and was traded. The team was not the same without "Doggie."

After sweeping a Phillies team that would win the WS four years later, they embarrassed the Yankees in their first World Series in 12 years. With an offense built around leadoff hitter Mickey Rivers bunting, Rose stood 10 feet in front of the third base bag and charged the plate, daring Rivers to hit the ball down his throat.

Thumb Munson's nine for 17 was offset by Bench's four home runs. They outscored the Yankees 22-8.

Every year, there is always the hullabaloo over the 1972 Dolphins. But for my money, the '76 Reds are the best team in my lifetime.

Major League Baseball Needs a Facelift

Don Cable — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:30:45 -0500

Is anyone as sick of the grumpy old Miami Dolphins claiming they don't get enough credit for their perfect season as I am? I turned 17 in 1972, and baseball was the national pastime.

In 1972 the Oakland A's won the first of three straight championships. They beat the Cincinnati Reds in a seven-game World Series where six of the seven games were won by one run.

The A's made the series by beating the Detroit Tigers three games to two. The same was true of the Reds, who beat the defending champion Pittsburgh Pirates with the winning run scored on a wild pitch.

1972 was also the year of the first of eight all too frequent work stoppages that have eroded a great deal of the sport's popularity. Baseball has also fallen into a stubbornness to change, so I submit the following.

1. Balance the schedule

Embrace interleague play or get rid of it. First of all (horror of horror!), this means a team moving to the American League.

With six five-team divisions, playing 18 games against divisional opponents=72 games. Six games against the 10 other teams in its league=60 games. Play 30 games against the other league on a rotating basis, like the NFL, playing a three-game series of one division at home, a second on the road, and not play the third=162 games.

No more some teams four games, some three, and some two. By doing this, there will be some interleague play going on all year. There's also the possibility of shortening the season to 154 games by playing 16 games within the division.

2. Expand the playoffs

Baseball plays 162 games, and six teams make the playoffs. The NFL plays 16 games, and 10 make the playoffs. The NBA plays 82, and 16 get in. The NCAA Men's basketball plays around 30 games a year, and 64 make the "Big Dance" (not to mention the 32 that make the NIT). To fix NCAA Football is someone else's problem.

Two of the best weekends in sports all year are the first weekend of the NFL playoffs and when the NCAA goes from 64 to 16 teams.

I propose that Baseball do the following. Instead of beginning the season at the beginning of a week, begin over the preceding weekend. On the weekend the season now ends, the division winner with the worst record and the best non- division winner would host a three-game series, opposing the next two best record teams, two out of three, and the winner moves onward.

This serves two purposes. 1. It keeps a lot of teams in contention much later in the season. 2. It creates incentive for the best teams to stay ahead in order to get a bye for the wild card weekend,

If I had my way, the LCS would go back to five games.