Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton

Birthdate	12/22/1944
Death Date
Debut Year	1965
Year of Induction	1994
Teams	Phillies
Position	Pitcher

Steve Carlton won 27 games for the 1972 last-place Phillies; he accounted for 46% of his team’s 59 victories that season.

Steve Carlton was a first-ballot selection for the Hall of Fame

Steve Carlton signed this contract to appear on Fleer baseball cards for the 1965 season. The cards were never produced. At the time the contract was executed, the 20-year old Carlton had yet to throw his first Major League pitch. During his career he became the first pitcher to win four Cy Young aw

Steve Carlton was the first hurler to earn four Cy Young Awards

Steve Carlton had a season for the ages in 1972. He won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. The writers made him their unanimous choice for the Cy Young Award. Lefty again captured the honor in 1977. That season he led the NL with 23 wins and pushed the Phil

Carlton received the Cy Young Award in a pregame ceremony on 4/15/73

Steve Carlton was the unanimous choice for the Cy Young Award in 1972. Leading the league in wins (27), ERA (1.97), and strikeouts (310) commands it. Former National League president Warren Giles presented the award to Carlton on April 15, 1973. On a sunny Sunday

Carlton set the NL mark for career strikeouts in 1981, a record he still holds

When Steve Carlton fanned his 3,128th batter on September 21, 1981, he surpassed Bob Gibson as the National League’s all time leader in strikeouts. Topps printed a baseball card commemorating the feat. Carlton extended his record to an even 4,000 whiffs. Here he signs the Topps card from the 1

May 28th, 2021 Leave a comment

Warren Giles gives the Cy Young to Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton’s 1972 season is one of the greatest performances by a pitcher in the last 100 years. The National League Cy Young Award winner, Carlton went 27-10 for a last-place Phillies team that finished 37 1/2 games out of first place.

Any way you measure it, Lefty’s season was one of the ages.

Carlton won the National League’s pitching Triple Crown by leading the Senior Circuit in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He completed 30 of his 41 starts.

SABRmetrics are predictably kind to Carlton’s season. He posted the highest single-season WAR by a pitcher since Walter Johnson in 1913. Lefty also led the majors in ERA+ and fielding-independent pitching.

Many feel his 1972 performance is vastly underappreciated.

It’s plain to see, the career year for one of baseball’s best pitchers was one of the ages.