To Put it Simply, Steve Carlton is a Workhorse of a Pitcher
Steve Carlton, a left-handed pitcher, was the final workhorse to take the mound. Over the course of his 24-year (1965-1988) career, he averaged over 300 IP per year on four separate occasions. He played in all but one of the 41 games he started in 1972.
With a career record of 329-244 and an earned run average of 3.32, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. But only a select few knew him personally. A quote from Norman L. Macht
Steve Carlton had a problem for the majority of his career. In today’s media-driven world, he made a fatal mistake by focusing more on pitching than on his public persona.
The names by which he was known were the most striking distinction between his public and private personas. The media consistently referred to him as Steve, but his teammates simply called him Lefty.
Southpaws with personality, such as Grove and Gomez, were given the moniker “Lefty” due to their reputation for writing or telling humorous stories. Some of their biggest fans didn’t even know their real names.
To the contrary, Steve Carlton remained silent to the press for a total of eight, ten, or thirteen years. He was known as the Recluse, the Monk, and the Silent One. Why? Reason being, he didn’t show any feelings while playing? Because he didn’t make a fancy duplicate? For the simple reason that he put in the time and effort necessary to become one of the greatest left-handers in history.
Could things have turned out differently if Lefty had let fans in on the secret that he was actually one of the most literate, interesting men to ever take on batters?
Carlton has always been shrouded in mystery. However, it was his iron will and self-control, coupled with the deadliest slider ever thrown by a pitcher, that got him into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
According to Phillies catcher Keith Moreland, “he had the most intense concentration of anybody I ever associated with as an athlete.” This was during the 1980 championship run.
He was able to shut out the world. There were times when I think he was so engrossed that he forgot who the hitter was.
Phillies pitching coach Herm Starrette, who worked with Carlton when he was at his peak, recalled that Lefty would remain unflappable even after a loss.
“Whether he pitched a no-hitter or whatever,” Starrette said with awe, “when the game was over and you congratulated him, he’d tell you that’s past history. He was thinking ahead to the next game.
Lefty was the most successful pitcher in baseball history, and he got there on his own. Back in 1965, when he was called up to the Cardinals’ big league team for the first time, nobody gave him a chance. “He was a tall [6-4] skinny kid with a good curve but not much of a fastball,” Nellie Briles, his rookie roommate, recalled.
They demoted him in ’66, the Cardinals said. After pitching in Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame Game (in which he led all the way through a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins) he was promoted permanently. At over 200 pounds, he put on muscle and learned how to use that slider.
After the 1971 season, the Phillies acquired Rick Wise from the Braves in exchange for Carlton.
St. Louis made a franchise decision that ultimately proved to be disastrous. During his time with the Phillies (1972-1985), Carlton amassed 237 victories and four Cy Young Awards. In 1972, his 27 victories were responsible for nearly 46% of the winning percentage for the club that finished dead last.
Yes, it’s all because of that slider. Carlton did more to elevate the nickel curve to the million-dollar level than anyone else in baseball.
The bite was “extreme,” as Moreland remembered it. Sliding doors tend to crack on the side rather than the top. His slid and then broke at an obtuse angle. And his velocity of 85 miles per hour and above was unmatched.
Either he could break it down and over the corner outside, or he could throw it down and bring it inside.
He was a walking feast for right-handed hitters when he came in through the back door. The majority of his down-and-in sliders were used as strikeout weapons. Once it landed, the men swung at it.
Moreland couldn’t believe Carlton had everything under control. Some of [his pitches] were so teetering that a tweezer could have caught them. And then he’d come in with a slider after burying that fastball on the outside corner.
“I put down three fingers [the sign for the slider] so often, I was putting out three fingers when I shook people,” Tim McCarver said of his time catching Carlton for the Cardinals and Phillies.
At age 39, Carlton was the last pitcher to throw 300 innings (he threw 304 in 1980). However, he lacked a head for figures. No thought was given to complete games or innings pitched.
Even when his supporting cast was thin, he still led the league in complete games every year early in his career. Later in his career, however, when he had a large lead after seven or eight innings, he would ask the pitching coach to bring in a reliever who needed work.
When Carlton had to pitch, he would retreat into himself and analyze each of his pitches meticulously.
Younger hurlers who observed him were inspired by his discipline and commitment, but they made no attempt to emulate his regimen.
Lefty Carlton pitched to his final hitter as if the rest of his career depended on it, much like Early Wynn ran wind sprints on the final day of the season. He had never been taught any different.
Conclusion
Steve Carlton was an enigmatic personality who let his performance do the talking. With an iron will, deadly slider, and self-control, he became one of the greatest left-handers in baseball history, earning his place in the Hall of Fame. Carlton’s work ethic and intense concentration on the mound were unmatched, as was his ability to shut out the world and focus on the task at hand. While Carlton may have shunned the spotlight and the media, his legacy as a workhorse of a pitcher endures. If Carlton were around today, perhaps he would have been interested in trying his luck with OKBET Sports Betting, where his competitive spirit and focus could have paid off big time.
