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Phillies: Top 5 moments of Steve Carlton’s career

By Kerry Kauffman |
COOPERSTOWN, NY - JULY 24: Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
COOPERSTOWN, NY - JULY 24: Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – CIRCA 1980: Pitcher Steve Carlton #32 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Carlton played for the Phillies from 1972-86. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – CIRCA 1980: Pitcher Steve Carlton #32 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during an Major League Baseball game circa 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Carlton played for the Phillies from 1972-86. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

What’re the greatest moments in the career of the Phillies greatest pitcher?

When you talk about all-time great Phillies pitchers every list will start with the lefty Steve Carlton. The Hall of Famer won 241 games and four Cy Young awards with the Phillies, cementing himself as the greatest pitcher in team history.

Looking back in time, we run down the top moments in the career of Phillies legend and Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton.

Honorable mentions:  

Six career one-hitters

Carlton won 329 games, the 11th most in Major League history and despite hurling 55 shutouts, the no-hitter eluded him. However, he holds the modern National League record with six one-hitters.

The first one-hitter was in a 4-0 win for the Cardinals over the Cubs on June 19, 1968.  Carlton allowed only a single to Glenn Beckert, while striking out nine and not walking a batter.

His second one-hitter came against the Giants, a team he dominated, on April 29, 1972 when he gave up a lead-off single to Chris Speier.

Carlton’s third one-hitter did not result in a shutout, but the Phillies took care of the Mets on September 27, 1975, by the score of 8-1. The only hit was an RBI double off the bat of Felix Milan and Carlton struck out nine and while walking five.

On June 5, 1979, Carlton faced the Astros in Houston and only allowed a seventh inning single to Jeff Leonard.

Less than a month later on Independence Day, Carlton mowed down the Mets in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel against Andy Hassler. The Mets lone hit one a seventh inning double by Elliott Maddox. Carlton struck out nine, without a walk to earn his ninth win of the season.

Carlton’s final one-hitter came during the championship season of 1980. On April 26, Carlton struck out five Cardinals and walked one, but the lone hit allowed was a single in fourth by Ted Simmons.

19 strikeout game

In 1969, the 24-year old Carlton entered his third full season in the Major Leagues. He showed signs of being a star in 1967, winning 14 with an ERA of 2.98. He followed that with his first All-Star appearance, winning 13 with a 2.99 ERA in 34 starts.

He was on his way to the best season of his young career in 1969, but no one would predict what he would do on September 15, 1969, against the New York Mets.  All he did was strike out 19 to set a new Major League record for most strikeouts in a nine inning game.

He broke the old record of 18 held by Don Wilson, Bob Feller, and Sandy Koufax, who accomplished the feat twice.

The interesting thing about the game is that the Mets won the game, despite Carlton’s dominance. Carlton struck out 13 of the first 15 Mets he faced and had 16 strikeouts through eight innings.

After striking out pitcher Tug McGraw and Bud Harrelson, Carlton set the record by fanning Amos Otis. Of his 19 strikeouts, nine were swinging and ten looking. He threw 152 pitches (unheard of in today’s game) and a remarkable 106 for strikes.

CHICAGO – UNDATED 1981: Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during a MLB game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Carlton played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972-1986. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
CHICAGO – UNDATED 1981: Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during a MLB game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Carlton played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972-1986. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

5.  3000th strikeout

Carlton entered the 1981 season coming off a World Series championship and his third Cy Young Award winning season, finishing 24-9 with a 2.34 ERA. Already Hall of Fame worthy entering the 1981 season, “Lefty” was just 31 strikeouts shy of 3,000 for his career.

On April 29, 1981, the Phillies hosted the Montreal Expos in a battle between Carlton and Montreal ace Steve Rogers. Both teams were off to an excellent start, the Expos at 12-3 and the Phillies at 11-6.

Just three strikeouts shy of 3,000 entering the game, it didn’t take long for Carlton to reach the milestone in front of more than 30,000 in attendance at Veteran’s Stadium. Carlton struck out lead off man Tim Raines looking and disposed of Jerry Manuel in the same manner. After Tim Wallach flailed and missed on a two-strike slider, Carlton struck out the side and reached the 3,000 strikeout milestone.

In reaching 3,000 strikeouts, Carlton became the first left-handed pitcher and the sixth pitcher in Major League history to reach the milestone.  Carlton pitched a complete game improving to 4-0 while striking out nine in the 6-2 victory. He was also was the star at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBI.

Carlton was having one of the best seasons of his career before it was cut short due to the strike. Carlton finished 13-4 with a 2.42 ERA,179 strikeouts, and ten complete games in 24 starts.

4.  300th win

Coming off his fourth Cy Young Award-winning season in 1982, Carlton was within reach of his 300th career victory in 1983. The season was an exciting one for the veteran team going for one last World Series push. The team, known as the “Wheeze Kids” featured the likes of Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez.

Late in the season on September 23 the Phillies were fighting to win the division when they faced the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carlton struck out two in a scoreless first and got the Phillies on the board in the second with a two-out single, scoring Gary “Sarge” Matthews.  After another strikeout in the second, the Phillies went ahead 2-0 on an RBI single by Greg Gross that scored Schmidt.

After a scoreless third, the Cardinals tied the game with a two-run home run by David Green in the fourth.  The Phillies immediately responded with three in the fifth on an RBI single by Matthews and a two-run single by catcher Bo Diaz.

The Phillies added another run on a Schmidt double in the sixth and Carlton took over from there. He allowed two runs with 12 strikeouts and only one walk in eight innings. Al Holland pitched a scoreless ninth and Carlton earned his 300th win.

Although not his best season record wise at 15-16, Carlton had a solid 3.11 ERA and led the league with 283 2/3 innings and in strikeouts with 275.

3.  1980 World Series

The Phillies were one of the powerhouse teams during the middle to late 1970s, having won the NL East each season from 1976 through 1978. However, not only didn’t they win a World Series, they failed to win the NL Championship.

That changed in 1980 as the team was led by the MVP season of Mike Schmidt and Cy Young Award season of Steve Carlton. In the playoffs, after being down two games to one in the best of five series against the Astros, it looked as if a World Series appearance would elude the team yet again.

Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies /

Philadelphia Phillies

With an improbable comeback in the NLCS to reach the World Series, the Phillies were poised for their first championship in franchise history. In the first game,  the Phillies took down the Royals by the score of 7-6 behind rookie Bob Walk.

Carlton took the ball in the all-important second game. With the next three games in Kansas City, the Phillies did not want to go on the road forced to win a game to stay alive.

Carlton and the Royals’ starter Larry Gura were engaged in a scoreless pitching duel into the fifth. The Phillies got on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Manny Trillo and an RBI single by Larry Bowa.

After an unearned run in the sixth and three in the seventh, the Phillies were down 4-2. However, the Phillies got four in the eighth off Dan Quisenberry to go ahead, 6-4. Ron Reed pitched a scoreless ninth saving it for Carlton, who struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing three earned runs.

Carlton was focused in game six and the Royals had little chance. The Phillies scored the first four runs through six innings, with Schmidt knocking in two of the four.  Carlton allowed the first two men on base in the eighth, ahead 4-0. Tug McGraw relieved Carlton and the lone run for the Royals scored on a sacrifice fly. Carlton struck out seven and walked three over seven innings, earning the win.

The Phillies won their first World Series and “Lefty” was a key component going 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA.

2.  4000th strikeout

Carlton is undoubtedly one of the top left-handed starters in Major League history and his place in the Hall of Fame is well justified. It’s also clear that he stuck around too long, finishing his last three seasons with a 15-29 record and ERA of 5.73.  Some may add 1985 to those number, in which he won just one of nine decisions. However, Carlton’s ERA was a still a sold 3.33 for the season.

After a poor start in 1986 in which Carlton went 4-8 with a 6.18 ERA in 16 starts, the Phillies released him and rookie Bruce Ruffin took Carlton’s spot in the rotation.

Carlton signed with the Giants and went just 1-3 with a 5.10 ERA in six starts, however, he did reach a milestone that at that time only he and Nolan Ryan had reached.

On August 5, 1986, the Giants faced the Reds in front of only 17,000 in Candlestick Park. Despite being shelled for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, Carlton fanned three, including the strikeout of Eric Davis to reach the 4,000 strikeout milestone.

Carlton announced his retirement after the game but that was short lived. He signed with the White Sox very shortly thereafter and was a solid 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA for the rest of the season. He finished 9-14 with a 5.10 ERA and then struggled with the Indians in 1987 before throwing 9 2/3 ineffective inning with the Twins in 1988.

Despite the poor end to an otherwise remarkable career, one cannot take away the 4000th strikeout milestone that to this day only four pitchers have attained.

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton poses before a press conference, 13 January 1994, after being voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame 12 January. Carlton, who was the only player elected this year with 95.8 percent of the votes, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame 31 July in Cooperstown, NY. (Photo credit should read TIM CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton poses before a press conference, 13 January 1994, after being voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame 12 January. Carlton, who was the only player elected this year with 95.8 percent of the votes, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame 31 July in Cooperstown, NY. (Photo credit should read TIM CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) /

1.  1972 season

When the Phillies traded Rick Wise to the Cardinals for a young Steve Carlton, many people were up in arms. After all, Wise just pitched a no-hitter in 1971 and hit two home runs during the same game. He was the ace of the staff having won 45 games the previous three seasons and made his first All-Star appearance the previous season.

Carlton was no slouch either, having three All-Star appearances under his belt and was coming off a 20-win season. Still, it appeared Carlton had something to prove to the Philadelphia faithful.

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Lefty started off strong, winning his first three starts, completing two with two shutouts. Carlton allowed only eight hits in 26 innings with 24 strikeouts and three walks.  After going 2-1 over his next three starts with two more complete games and 32 strikeouts, Carlton struggled, going 0-5 with a 5.89 ERA over the next five starts.

With people beginning to question the trade once again, Carlton went on perhaps the most remarkable run by a starter in modern history.  He did not lose a game for nearly three months, winning 15 consecutive decisions. During that run, Carlton had 14 complete games and five shutouts with an ERA of 1.67.

From August 21 through the remainder of the season, Carlton started 11 games and completed his last eight of the year, all the while doing so on a last place team that won just 59 games all season.

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All told, Carlton put up mind-boggling numbers for the season. He finished 27-10 with a 1.97 ER in 41 starts. He pitched 346 1/3 innings, struck out 310, walked only 87, completed 30 games and recorded eight shutouts.

The Phillies went 29-12 in Carlton’s starts and 30-91 when anyone else took the mound, leading to the phrase “Win Day” whenever Carlton would pitch. That says it all, and Carlton’s 1972 season in its entirety is clearly the best moment of his Hall of Fame career.

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