300 win club

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A black-and-white photograph of a man from the chest up looking to his right, wearing a baseball uniform with the letters "B" and "A".
Cy Young is the all-time leader in wins.

In Major League Baseball, the 300 win club is the group of pitchers who have won 300 or more games. Twenty-four pitchers have reached this milestone. Early in the history of professional baseball, many of the rules favored the pitcher over the batter; the distance pitchers threw to home plate was shorter than today, and pitchers were able to use foreign substances to alter the direction of the ball.[1] The first player to win 300 games was Pud Galvin in 1888. Seven pitchers recorded all or the majority of their career wins in the 19th century: Galvin, Cy Young, Kid Nichols, Tim Keefe, John Clarkson, Charley Radbourn, and Mickey Welch.[2] Four more pitchers joined the club in the first quarter of the 20th century: Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Eddie Plank, and Grover Cleveland Alexander.[1] Young is the all-time leader in wins with 511, a mark that is considered unbreakable.[3] If a modern-day pitcher won 20 games per season for 25 seasons, he would still be 11 games short of Young's mark.

Only three pitchers, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, and Early Wynn, joined the 300 win club between 1924 and 1982, which may be explained by a number of factors: the abolition of the spitball,[1][lower-alpha 1] World War II military service, such as Bob Feller's,[5] and the growing importance of the home run in the game.[1] As the home run became commonplace, the physical and mental demands on pitchers dramatically increased, which led to the use of a four-man starting rotation.[1][2] Between 1982 and 1990, the 300 win club gained six members: Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton and Tom Seaver.[2] These pitchers benefited from the increased use of specialized relief pitchers, an expanded strike zone, and new stadiums, including Shea Stadium, Dodger Stadium and the Astrodome, that were pitcher's parks, which suppressed offensive production.[2] Also, the increasing sophistication of training methods and sports medicine, such as Tommy John surgery, allowed players to maintain a high competitive level for a longer time.[6] Randy Johnson, for example, won more games in his 40s than he did in his 20s.[7]

Since 1990, only four pitchers have joined the 300 win club: Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Johnson. Changes in the game in the last decade of the 20th century have made attaining 300 career wins difficult, perhaps more so than during the mid 20th century.[8] The four-man starting rotation has given way to a five-man rotation, which gives starting pitchers fewer chances to pick up wins.[2] No pitcher reached 20 wins in a non strike-shortened year for the first time in 2006; this was repeated in 2009.[9]

Recording 300 career wins has been seen as a guaranteed admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[10][11][12] All pitchers with 300 wins have been elected to the Hall of Fame[13] except for Clemens, who received only half of the vote total needed for induction in his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013[14] and lost votes from that total in 2014.[15] Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs.[16] To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player must have "been retired five seasons" or deceased for at least six months,[17] Many observers expect the club to gain few, if any, members in the foreseeable future.[13][18][19] Ten members of the 300 win club are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club.[20]

Members

File:Kid Nichols Baseball.jpg
Kid Nichols was the youngest pitcher to win 300 games, achieving the feat at age 30.[21]
A man in a white baseball uniform with the word "GIANTS" written across it prepares to throw a baseball with his left hand to home plate during a game.
Randy Johnson is the most recent member of the 300 win club.
Key
Pitcher Name of the pitcher
Wins Career wins
Date Date of the player's 300th win
Team The pitcher's team for his 300th win
Seasons The seasons this player played in the major leagues
dagger Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
Members of the 300 win club
Pitcher Wins Date Team Seasons Ref
Cy Youngdagger 511 July 12, 1901 Boston Americans 1890–1911 [22]
Walter Johnsondagger 417 May 14, 1920 Washington Senators 1907–1927 [23]
Grover Cleveland Alexanderdagger 373 September 20, 1924 Chicago Cubs 1911–1930 [24]
Christy Mathewsondagger 373 June 13, 1912 New York Giants 1900–1916 [25]
Pud Galvindagger 365 September 4, 1888 Pittsburgh Alleghenys 1875–1892 [26]
Warren Spahndagger 363 August 11, 1961 Milwaukee Braves 1942–1965 [27]
Kid Nicholsdagger 361 July 7, 1900 Boston Beaneaters 1890–1906 [28]
Greg Madduxdagger 355 August 7, 2004 Chicago Cubs 1986–2008 [29]
Roger Clemens 354 June 13, 2003 New York Yankees 1984–2007 [30]
Tim Keefedagger 342 June 4, 1890 New York Giants (PL) 1880–1893 [31]
Steve Carltondagger 329 September 23, 1983 Philadelphia Phillies 1965–1988 [32]
John Clarksondagger 328 September 21, 1892 Cleveland Spiders 1882–1894 [33]
Eddie Plankdagger 326 September 11, 1915 St. Louis Terriers 1901–1917 [34]
Nolan Ryandagger 324 July 31, 1990 Texas Rangers 1966, 1968–1993 [35]
Don Suttondagger 324 June 18, 1986 California Angels 1966–1988 [36]
Phil Niekrodagger 318 October 6, 1985 New York Yankees 1964–1987 [37]
Gaylord Perrydagger 314 May 6, 1982 Seattle Mariners 1962–1983 [38]
Tom Seaverdagger 311 August 4, 1985 Chicago White Sox 1967–1986 [39]
Charles Radbourndagger 309 June 2, 1891 Cincinnati Reds 1880–1891 [40]
Mickey Welchdagger 307 July 28, 1890 New York Giants 1880–1892 [41]
Tom Glavinedagger 305 August 5, 2007 New York Mets 1987–2008 [42]
Randy Johnsondagger 303 June 4, 2009 San Francisco Giants 1988–2009 [43]
Early Wynndagger 300 July 13, 1963 Cleveland Indians 1939–1963 [44]
Lefty Grovedagger 300 July 25, 1941 Boston Red Sox 1925–1941 [45]

See also

Notes

  1. Though it is illegal to doctor the baseball, Don Sutton and Gaylord Perry, members of the 300 win club and Hall of Fame, were widely suspected of this behavior.[4]

References

General

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Specific

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  7. McCauley, Janie. "Big Unit Approaches Big Number: Next Up, No. 300". Yahoo! Sports. June 1, 2009.
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