Baseball Historian

By 1964, "Sudden Sam" was making headline news and by 1965 he was the most dominant American League pitcher. He led the league with his 2.18 ERA, had a mere .185 on-base-pct, allowed only 178 hits in 273 innings, and fanned 325 batters - at that time the fourth best total in this century. He struckout 10.71 batters per/game setting a major league record.

"Sudden Sam" continued to terrorize AL batters and he led the league in strikeouts in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1970. He was voted the 'Pitcher of the Year' in 1966, leading in K's, shutouts and pitched back-to-back one-hitters - he fanned 16 Angels on May 1, and in three other games fanned 15.

In 1970, he again was 'Pitcher of the Year' by winning 20 games with 304 K's. Twice in his career, McDowell fanned over 300 batters in a single season. He won only 13 games in 1971 and walked a career high 153, as his heavy drinking continued. The Indians traded their star to the San Francisco Giants in 1972 but McDowell won only 10 games. He finished his career as a reliever for the Pirates.

McDowell fanned 2,453 batters in his career. And His total of 74 games with 10 strikeouts or more was fourth on the all-time list and the end of 1990 - behind only Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Steve Carlton. McDowell's career average of 8.86 K's per nine innings trails only Ryan and Koufax and Sudden Sam allowed only seven hits per nine innings, for an outstanding on-base-pct of .215.

He made the AL's All-Star squad every year from 1965 thru 1971. Sam McDowell's career record: 141-134, 3.17 ERA, 2493 innings with 2,453 K's, 23 shutouts, started 346 games and completed 103.

After he retired, McDowell joined an alcohol-free program and has been employed as a counselor to drug and alcohol addicted ballplayers. Good Luck to You - 'Sudden Sam' McDowell - Your fastball ranks as one of the best all-time. baseballhistorian.com

Dusty Baker was a consistent .280 hitters during his 18 year career but he's best remembered as a clutch-hitting, fine fielding OF-1B who excelled in the League Championship Series. In the 1977 LCS, Dusty Baker hit .357 and set a record with 8 RBI's in a four-game series, and batted .292 in the World Series. He played in three additional LCS and never hit under .316. He won a Gold Glove in 1981 and hit .320 for that season.

Dusty Baker's Career stats: .278 BA, 2093 games, 242 HR's, and 1013 RBI's. In four League Championship Series - 17 games, .373 batting average, 3 homers, 13 RBI's; in 3 World Series - .232 BA, 2 HR's, 7 RBI's. Current manager of the San Francisco Giants... News Update: November 2000 - Voted 'NL Manager of the Year' - third time so honored. baseballhistorian.com archives Baseball History

Chet Lemon holds the American League record for the most seasons having more 400 plus putouts in a season with 7.

In 1977, Lemon hit 38 doubles, 19 HR's and scored 99 runs. His top season for batting was 1979, he hit 44 doubles to tie for the league lead, batted .318, and had 86 RBI's. He also made the All-Star team in three different years. Lemon was a hustling, play to win ballplayer, and fans would cheer his sliding into 1st base trying to beat out an infield grounder.

The White Sox traded him to the Detroit Tigers in 1982 and as his power numbers rose, he became an important player for the Tigers in their World Series victory in 1984. In the regular season for the Tigers, Lemon batted .287, 34 D, 20 HR's, 76 RBI's.

Lemon played with the Tigers thru 1990 when he retired. Chet Lemon career: batted .273, hit 396 D's, 61 T, 215 HR's. Chet Lemon, we honor your top all-around hustling and outstanding give-it-your-all fielding. Baseballhistorian.com All Rights Reserved Chet Lemon

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In his rookie season, as a member of the San Francisco Giants, he hit .300, 22 D, 10 T, 12 HR's and was the NL's Rookie of the Year.

A consistent hitter, he never hit below .275 nor had a lower than .300 on-base-pct in his first 11 seasons. As a fact with his patience at the plate, Gary Matthews never had an on-base-pct below .350 in his first 8 years - his high being .404 in 1981 when he batted .301 for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Playing for the Braves in 1979, Matthews hit .304, 34 D's, 27 HR's, 97 runs and 90 RBI's. All thru his career he was capable of turning the big play by making a remarkable running catch or by lining the game winning clutch-hit.

Baseball Historian

His leadership helped the Phillies win the NL East in 1981, and he won the MVP award in the 1983 NLCS. He was traded to the Cubs in 1984 and that year hit .291, led the league in walks, 103 and had 82 RBI's, helping the Cubs advance to the NLCS. He hit 2 home runs in Game 1 to help the Cubs win the first game, but the Padres took the series anyway in five games.

Gary Matthews career: .281 BA, 2011 hits, .367 on-base-pct, 319 D, 51 T, 234 HR's, 1053 R's, 978 RBI's and 978 walks.

We tip our cap to you,"Sarge"and agree with Ted Turner , who once said, " Matthews is in the game all the time. He's taking about baseball all the time. He's a lot like Pete Rose, really, He's a gamer".

In post season play of 1982, he lined two triples in a three games series and in the Cardinals World Series' win over the Brewers, McGee homered twice in Game 3 driving in 4 runs. He also flawlessly handled a record 24 chances. By 1985, Willie McGee was a major star, leading the NL in batting .353, collected 216 hits, 18 triples, stole 56 bases, scored 114 runs and was voted the NL's Most Valuable Player. His .353 batting average was the highest total in history for a switch-hitter, tying Mickey Mantle's 1956 record.

Willie McGee helped the Cardinals win three pennants, 1982, 1985, 1987. He won another batting crown in 1990 by hitting .335 but was traded to Oakland in August. He was dealt to the San Francisco Giants the following season, hit .301 in 1993 and returned to the Cardinals. He might have played his final season in 1999 as a member of the St. Louis' team. Willie McGee's career: .298 BA, over 1800 hits, over 285 D's, 80 T's and over 80 HR's and has stolen over 300 career bases. Baseballhistorian.com

Bobby Murcer appeared in five straight All-Star games, 1971-75.

In 1971 Murcer hit a career high .331, along with 25 HR's and scored 94 runs with 94 RBI's, .429 on-base-pct. In 1972, he led the league in runs scored with 102, hit a career high 33 homers, batted .292.

A popular player in New York, Bobby Murcer was traded in a news breaking deal for Bobby Bonds. He played two solid years in the Bay City, 1975-76, and then was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Madlock. Bobby Murcer quickly became a favorite of the bleacher fans in Wrigley Field when he hit 27 home runs in 1977 for the Cubbies.

His career had already peaked and although he recorded eight hits in one stretch for the Cubs, he was traded back to the Yankees in 1980. He retired in June 1983.

Bobby Murcer career: .277 BA, 1862 hits, 285 D's, 252 HR's, 127 stolen bases, 972 runs, 1043 RBI's and a fine .361 on-base-pct. Murcer later became a Yankee broadcaster and also a part-time owner of the Class AAA team in Oklahoma City.