After his great 1972 season, Steve Carlton had some tough years. But
after he turned 30, Carlton embarked on a remarkable run of brilliant seasons.
From 1976-1983, Carlton won three Cy Young Awards; his team also enjoyed
great prosperity, winning five division titles, two pennants, and their only
World Series. The prime years of Carlton and Mike Schmidt remain the most successful
in the history of the Philadelphia Philles.
John Candelaria also had his best season. The
Candy Man was 23 years old; though he was never again as effective as he
was this year, Candelaria had a long career that spanned 19 years; his
first ten years were spent as a starter with the Pirates. His remaining years
were spent mostly as a left-handed reliever; in that time, Candelaria
was constantly on the move, playing with eight different teams in eight years.
Candeleria retired with 177 career wins, and only 122 losses.
Rick Reuschel had his best season. Reuschel
spent his first nine years with the Cubs, and was usually a good pitcher.
His career fell apart in the early 1980's, when he had arm problems; Reuschel
rebounded in 1985 with a very good season with Pittsburgh. Later in the decade,
Reuschel had some remarkable seasons with the Giants. In 1988, Reuschel won
19 games with San Francisco, at age 39. In 1989, at age 40, Reuschel won
17 games, started the All-Star game, and led the Giants into the World
Series. He retired a couple of years later with 214 career wins.
At age 24, Bruce Sutter exploded onto the
scene. Sutter's out-pitch was something hitters hadn't seen before; a
devastating split-fingered fastball. His splitter was similar to the
forkball, except it was thrown harder and had a later break. Sutter
was part of a new wave of relievers who revolutionize the role of the closer
in baseball games; his success also made the splitter one of the most
popular new pitches in baseball.
