On Wednesday, Randy Johnson became the 24th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to win 300 games. This is a great accomplishment, there is no doubt, but this will more than likely be the last time we, as baseball fans, see a 300 game winner.
The reason is simple. Guys just don't have as many opportunities to win games anymore. Specialization has taken the game and molded it into something different. Pitchers rarely go deep into games anymore. A quality start (6 IP, 3 ER) is now what teams are looking for before they go to the bullpen. Pitch counts (see Chamberlain, Joba) now take precedent over talent, and younger pitchers are forced to watch from the dugout as their hard work is ruined by the bullpen. It is a sad thing to see, as a pitcher gets 30-34 starts in a season and their record is filled with no decisions.
So congratulations Randy on the 300th win of your career. I am happy that I will be able to tell my children and grandchildren that I saw the last 300 game winner in the history of Major League Baseball.
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Hold off that speech to your yet-to-be conceived (or so I hope) children, Excellent One. Of course there will be another 300 game winner. I have heard these "never again" proclamations ever since the Seaver/Ryan/Carlton/Perry group all won their respective 300th games back in the 1980's. First we heard that no pitcher from the 5-man rotation era could possibly win 300 games. That was proven incorrect when Roger Clemens (for whatever reason, but this is a discussion for another time), and Greg Maddux both reached the milestone.
ReplyDeleteAfter Maddux we again heard the "never again" refrain because of the Age of Specialization and the rise of the relief pitcher. And what happened? Since then Tom Glavine won his 300th, now Randy Johnson, both products of both the 5 man rotation and the Age of Specialization. Also, a compelling case could be made that Mike Mussina could have won the 50 or so games necessary to reach 300 had he not decided to retire after a 20-win season.
I don't know who the next 300 game winner is, maybe it is Roy Halliday or Johan Santana. Maybe it is a young pro like Tim Lincecum, or maybe it is fuzzy-faced kid who has not yet thrown his first big league pitch. But I do know it will happen again, because every time the supposed experts throw up a reason why it won't, another generation of great pitchers comes along and proves the naysayers wrong.
The Big Unit may be the last 300 game winner for a long time, but ever? Nah.