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.