Last fall, I took a more detailed look at Stieb’s Cooperstown candidacy. Only 13 Hall of Fame pitchers have a lower WAR; five of them are relief pitchers. One is to throw your hands in the air and give up. The Twins completed a 4-1 series win when Blyleven beat Alexander in Game 5. Bronze plaque bearing the bas relief image of John Scott Morris' portrait with two bats behind it and narrative of career highlights below in raised lettering. At the end of Morris’ five-year run of excellence (1987), the Tigers were in a heated battle with the Toronto Blue Jays for the A.L. Yes, I’m pretty sure that his ERA came up when the 16-member committee deliberated. The point here is that, during the period of time spanning 1971 to 1983, the only four Hall of Fame pitchers other than Morris who debuted were primarily or exclusively relievers (Eckersley, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith).

Pound for pound, Stieb is right. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. One of the members of the Modern Game Committee was Jayson Stark, a long-time writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and espn.com. All in all, Morris finished with 254 wins, a 3.90 ERA and 175 complete games, which remains the most in baseball for any pitcher since 1974.

But the Royals won Game 5 at home and Game 6 in Toronto, setting up a Game 7 showdown at Exhibition Stadium.

Stieb, by the way, has a pragmatic view of his own Cooperstown worthiness, In a recent interview with The Sporting News, he acknowledged that he “didn’t belong” in the Hall of Fame because he “didn’t win enough games.” He wasn’t happy, however, about being drummed off the BBWAA ballot after one year; he got just 7 votes (1.4%) on the 2004 ballot, saying “please amuse me and string me out for two or three years.”. That’s some pretty strong company, don’t you think? Morris won more games. Many of us who devoted time and energy to arguing against his case grew up watching his no-hitter, Game 7 shutout and other highlights from his 18-year career. “To go into the Hall of Fame with my friend and teammate Alan Trammell is a dream come true. There were 68 games in his career where Morris went out to finish the game in what would have been a save situation for a closer (a lead of 1 to 3 runs).

It’s the only statistic that has the ability to measure position players against pitchers.

On December 10, 2017, in Orlando, Florida, Jeff Idelson, the President of the National Hall of Fame and Museum, was on the MLB Network set, and announced that longtime members of the Detroit Tigers, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, had just been elected to the Hall of Fame. Won 19 regular seasons games – and each of his three postseason appearances – for Detroit’s 1984 juggernaut. For additional information, see the Global Shipping Program, This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. His BABIP was 8 points lower at home than it was on the road.

Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
A look at the Jack Morris display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame Voting and Consideration needs to be revamped at the 1st stage. There is no hurler in the history of baseball with more position players faced without ever having the benefit of the “easy out” that the opposing pitcher usually provides. First of all, let me say that I believe in Wins Above Replacement and the goal of its existence. The Veterans Committees (now known as the Eras Committees) are designed to give a 2nd chance to players who were not recognized by the writers.

These same home/road splits are almost universally consistent with the results of other Tiger pitchers during these 14 seasons. All rights reserved. Incidentally, I am also one of the many advocates for Whitaker joining Morris and Trammell in Cooperstown. Nobody went to the bullpen more often than Sparky but, in the A.L. Since the mound was lowered in 1969, there have been 16 pitchers who who started at least 150 games and pitched into the 9th inning. It’s notable that all eight Hall of Famers either played against, managed against or “general managed” against both Morris and Trammell. Jack Morris was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 28, 2018. The pitcher has no control of the quality of the opposing lineup.

Examining the Credentials of the Current and Future Candidates for the Hall of Fame. Mathews International Corp. (Manufacturer), National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main Street, He was the most important pitcher of his generation. “Most wins in the ’80s” is a junk stat, like “OPS from Aug. 24 through [the] end of season” or “batting average in day games in even-numbered innings during Ramadan.” You know, the kind of thing stupid people think is sabermetrics. View cart for details. It ended after the 1994 season, three years before the debut of interleague play in regular season games. We know he was a very good pitcher for a long time, an intense competitor and a sturdy workhorse. He made three All-Star games during those five seasons and had two top 5 finishes in the Cy Young voting. Morris also led the majors in innings pitched from 1978-87 and the next five 10-year cycles after that. The Modern Baseball Committee that voted on Morris, Trammell and eight other candidates contained eight Hall of Famers (George Brett, Rod Carew, Bobby Cox, Dennis Eckersley, John Schuerholz, Don Sutton, Dave Winfield and Robin Yount) along with five executives and three longtime media members.

So, it’s true that Big Game Jack’s overall post-season ERA (3.80) is nothing special but it’s because of that one post-season. East title. Your article puts into words some of the things I instinctively felt about Morris’ career. The first window (1871-1879) is only 9 years long because recorded baseball history starts in 1871. He also led all of MLB in complete games for 9 consecutive 10-year cycles (from 1977-86 through 1985-94). Jack Morris pitched 10 shutout innings to lead the Twins to the World Series title on Oct. 27, 1991. The second highest total for those 14 years was belongs to Charlie Hough (who made 166 starts of 8+ IP). Therefore, Morris’ 3.90 career ERA is adjusted to a 105 ERA+ for the fact that he was an A.L. Maddux, Martinez and Johnson are all-time greats.

He had 162 wins in the decade, 22 more than runner-up Dave Stieb. From 1971 to 1983, there were 54 different pitchers who premiered in the big leagues who would go on to have careers in which they logged at least 2,000 innings. After winning Games 1 and 4 of the ALCS (against the Toronto Blue Jays), he opened the World Series at the Metrodome against the N.L. Morris had one, and pitched 10 innings of shutout ball. Take a look at the Tigers’ WAR leaders during Morris’ best five seasons (1983-1987). In Game 4, pitching at Fulton-County Stadium in Atlanta on three days rest, he gave up just one run in 6 innings but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the top of the 7th and had a no-decision.