300-win club explained

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. This list does not include Bobby Mathews who won 297 in the major leagues plus several more in 1869 and 1870 before the major leagues were established in 1871. The San Francisco Giants are the only franchise to see four players reach 300 wins while on their roster: Tim Keefe in the Players' League, Christy Mathewson and Mickey Welch while the team was in New York, and most recently Randy Johnson. 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. Moreover, a schedule with rest days after most games allowed pitchers to start a far higher proportion of their team's games than modern pitchers do, typically every other game or even more (in the second half of the 1884 season Old Hoss Radbourn started 40 games out of 43). 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, Keefe, John Clarkson, Charles Radbourn, and Welch.[1] Four more pitchers joined the club in the first quarter of the 20th century: Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Eddie Plank, and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Young is the all-time leader in wins with 511, a mark that is considered unbreakable.[2] 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[3] ; World War II military service, such as Bob Feller's;[4] and the growing importance of the home run in the game.[3] 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.[3] [1] Between 1982 and 1990, the 300-win club gained six members: Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Tom Seaver.[1] These pitchers benefited from baseball's increase from a 154-game schedule to a 162-game schedule in 1961, and expansion of the league from 16 teams in 1960 to 26 by 1977. 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 all also suppressed offensive production.[1] 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.[5] Randy Johnson, for example, won more games in his 40s than he did in his 20s.[6]

Since 1990, only four pitchers have joined the 300-win club: Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Randy 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.[7] The four-man starting rotation has given way to a five-man rotation, which gives starting pitchers fewer chances to pick up wins.[1] No pitcher reached 20 wins in a non-strike-shortened year for the first time in 2006; this was repeated in 2009 and 2017.[8]

Recording 300 career wins has been seen as a guaranteed admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[9] [10] [11] All pitchers with 300 wins have been elected to the Hall of Fame 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 [12] and lost votes from that total in .[13] Clemens fell off the ballot in 2022 and can only be elected via the players' Contemporary Baseball Era ballot of the Veterans Committee. Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs.[14] Many observers expect the club to gain few, if any, members in the foreseeable future.[15] [16] [17] Ten members of the 300-win club are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club.[18]

Members

Pitcher
Name of the pitcher
WinsCareer wins
DateDate of the player's 300th win
TeamThe pitcher's team for his 300th win
SeasonsThe seasons this player played in the major leagues
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
Denotes player who is still active-->
Pitcher!scope="col"
WinsDateTeamSeasonsRef
511Boston Americans1890–1911[19]
417Washington Senators1907–1927[20]
373Chicago Cubs1911–1930[21]
373New York Giants1900–1916[22]
365Pittsburgh Alleghenys1875, 1879–1892[23]
363Milwaukee Braves1942, 1946–1965[24]
362Boston Beaneaters1890–1901, 1904–1906[25]
355Chicago Cubs1986–2008[26]
354New York Yankees1984–2007[27]
342New York Giants (PL)1880–1893[28]
329Philadelphia Phillies1965–1988[29]
328Cleveland Spiders1882–1894[30]
326St. Louis Terriers1901–1917[31]
324Texas Rangers1966, 1968–1993[32]
324California Angels1966–1988[33]
318New York Yankees1964–1987[34]
314Seattle Mariners1962–1983[35]
311Chicago White Sox1967–1986[36]
310Cincinnati Reds1880–1891[37]
307New York Giants1880–1892[38]
305New York Mets1987–2008[39]
303San Francisco Giants1988–2009[40]
300Cleveland Indians1939–1944, 1946–1963[41]
300Boston Red Sox1925–1941[42]

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: Baseball; 300-Victory Club Becomes Tougher to Join. Allen. Barra. The New York Times. May 26, 2003. May 9, 2012. April 6, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180406231937/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/26/sports/baseball-300-victory-club-becomes-tougher-to-join.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. live.
  2. Web site: Not all records are made to be broken. September 27, 2011. September 20, 2012. Bob. Harkins. NBC Sports.com. https://archive.today/20130104022848/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44681509/ns/sports-baseball/page/2/. January 4, 2013. dead.
  3. News: Breaking Down The 300 Club. Hartford Courant. June 16, 2003. Don. Amore. August 3, 2012. January 20, 2013. https://archive.today/20130120014001/http://articles.courant.com/2003-06-16/sports/0306160712_1_babe-ruth-21st-century-iron-men. dead.
  4. Maddux's march toward history. Tom. Verducci. Tom Verducci. Sports Illustrated. July 18, 2001. June 27, 2012. February 12, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020212122003/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/tom_verducci/news/2001/07/18/verducci_insider/. live.
  5. News: Remington. Alex. Presenting the Tommy John All-Stars. Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. April 9, 2010. June 27, 2012.
  6. News: McCauley . Janie . June 1, 2009 . Big Unit approaches big number: Next up, No. 300 . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20231011153745/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-bbn-johnson-chasing-300-060109-2009jun01-story.html . October 11, 2023 . October 11, 2023.
  7. Web site: Singer. Tom. Johnson could close out the 300 club. MLB.com. June 5, 2009. September 8, 2012. October 1, 2016. https://archive.today/20161001122019/http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/5104542. live.
  8. Web site: Newman. Mark. MLB denied 20-game winner in '09. MLB.com. October 3, 2009. August 3, 2012. October 1, 2016. https://archive.today/20161001122139/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/7297180. live.
  9. News: Mets' Glavine Nears 300 Wins, With Only Johnson, Mussina Close. Danielle. Sessa. Bloomberg. March 30, 2007. June 27, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925165825/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=acwd6Kb2NIgk&refer=us. September 25, 2013.
  10. News: Yankees, Henderson continuing talks. United Press International. 9. Record-Journal. December 8, 1984. June 27, 2012. February 2, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160202153700/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P81jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cAENAAAAIBAJ&pg=5771,1534538&dq=fastest+to+300+wins+baseball&hl=en. live.
  11. News: 3,000 hits, 500 HRs, 300 wins just about guarantee Hall entry. https://archive.today/20130131221648/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/25146910.html?dids=25146910:25146910&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+02,+1998&author=Tom+Weir&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=3,000+hits,+500+HRs,+300+wins+just+about+guarantee+Hall+entry&pqatl=google. dead. January 31, 2013. Tom. Weir. 14.C. USA Today. January 2, 1998. June 27, 2012.
  12. 2013 Hall of Fame Vote a Shutout . National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . January 9, 2013 . January 9, 2013 . January 15, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115043127/http://baseballhall.org/news/press-releases/2013-hall-fame-vote-shutout . dead .
  13. News: Maddux, Glavine, Thomas to HOF . ESPN.com . January 8, 2014 . January 11, 2014 . January 8, 2014 . https://archive.today/20140108194334/http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10261922/baseball-hall-fame-class-2014-announced . live .
  14. Web site: Whopper of a list of names await in 2013 . Tim . Kurkjian . . January 9, 2012 . May 11, 2012 . But Clemens is, after [Barry] Bonds, the next face of the steroid era. He has been charged with lying before Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. He has no chance to make it to Cooperstown next year, or for many, many years to come. . November 1, 2014 . https://archive.today/20141101215245/http://espn.go.com/mlb/hof12/story/_/id/7439370/2013-hall-fame-ballot-all-performance-enhancing-drugs . live .
  15. News: Kurkjian. Tim. Tim Kurkjian. Glavine Could be Last to Reach 300 for Years. ESPN The Magazine. August 5, 2007. April 16, 2012. July 23, 2012. https://archive.today/20120723025904/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=2956095. live.
  16. News: Bierman. Fred. Johnson Is Next, and Possibly Last, in Line to Win 300. The New York Times. May 9, 2009. April 16, 2012. July 8, 2012. https://archive.today/20120708125717/http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/johnson-is-next-and-possibly-last-in-line-to-win-300/?scp=8&sq=300%20wins&st=cse. live.
  17. News: Bishop. Greg. Johnson Quietly Nears a Defining Moment. The New York Times. June 2, 2009. April 16, 2012. January 7, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150107002842/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/sports/baseball/03johnson.html?scp=5&sq=Randy%20Johnson&st=cse. live.
  18. Web site: Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts. Baseball-Reference.com. June 27, 2012. April 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110428212308/http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SO_p_career.shtml. live.
  19. Web site: Cy Young Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . February 10, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090210031934/http://www.baseball-reference.com/y/youngcy01.shtml . live .
  20. Web site: Walter Johnson Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . May 8, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180508121736/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml . live .
  21. Web site: Pete Alexander Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com. August 7, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100906161147/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alexape01.shtml. September 6, 2010 . live.
  22. Web site: Christy Mathewson Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . March 25, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210325114532/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathech01.shtml . live .
  23. Web site: Pud Galvin Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 22, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100122052516/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/galvipu01.shtml? . live .
  24. Web site: Warren Spahn Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . April 25, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210425191534/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spahnwa01.shtml . live .
  25. Web site: Kid Nichols Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . July 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210709015952/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nichoki01.shtml . live .
  26. Web site: Greg Maddux Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . April 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220426213202/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maddugr01.shtml . live .
  27. Web site: Roger Clemens Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100104094659/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero02.shtml . live .
  28. Web site: Tim Keefe Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . April 27, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110427093754/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/keefeti01.shtml . live .
  29. Web site: Steve Carlton Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100104131216/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carltst01.shtml . live .
  30. Web site: John Clarkson Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . September 3, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110903175518/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01.shtml . live .
  31. Web site: Eddie Plank Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . September 25, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100925191625/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/planked01.shtml . live .
  32. Web site: Nolan Ryan Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100104094812/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ryanno01.shtml . live .
  33. Web site: Don Sutton Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . August 8, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110808182535/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/suttodo01.shtml . live .
  34. Web site: Phil Niekro Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . March 28, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180328061059/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/niekrph01.shtml . live .
  35. Web site: Gaylord Perry Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . February 12, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100212113334/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perryga01.shtml . live .
  36. Web site: Tom Seaver Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100104221944/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/seaveto01.shtml . live .
  37. Web site: Old Hoss Radbourn Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . January 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220104225820/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/radboch01.shtml . live .
  38. Web site: Mickey Welch Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . February 2, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090202105829/http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/welchmi01.shtml . live .
  39. Web site: Tom Glavine Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . April 13, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110413054500/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/glavito02.shtml . live .
  40. Web site: Randy Johnson Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . August 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826231112/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra05.shtml . live .
  41. Web site: Early Wynn Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . February 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210224093100/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wynnea01.shtml . live .
  42. Web site: Lefty Grove Statistics and History . Baseball-Reference.com . August 7, 2010 . April 14, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110414204940/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grovele01.shtml . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "300-win club".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.