That's incredibly sad--my thoughts go out to his family and to Cardinals fans.
I know that Raphy is writing some details about Forsch's career. Other than the multiple no-hitters, the thing that I always remember about Forsch's stats was how lucky he was to win 20 games in 1977.
Click through for the details.
Here are the lowest ERA+ values for a pitcher since 1950 to win at least 20 games while having fewer than 10 losses:
Rk | Player | W | L | Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | CG | SHO | GF | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steve Carlton | 102 | 20 | 9 | 1971 | 26 | STL | 37 | 36 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 273.1 | 275 | 120 | 108 | 98 | 172 | 3.56 |
2 | Jack Morris | 102 | 21 | 6 | 1992 | 37 | TOR | 34 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 240.2 | 222 | 114 | 108 | 80 | 132 | 4.04 |
3 | Mike Cuellar | 105 | 24 | 8 | 1970 | 33 | BAL | 40 | 40 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 297.2 | 273 | 126 | 115 | 69 | 190 | 3.48 |
4 | John Burkett | 107 | 22 | 7 | 1993 | 28 | SFG | 34 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 231.2 | 224 | 100 | 94 | 40 | 145 | 3.65 |
5 | Bob Grim | 107 | 20 | 6 | 1954 | 24 | NYY | 37 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 199.0 | 175 | 78 | 72 | 85 | 108 | 3.26 |
6 | Tom Browning | 107 | 20 | 9 | 1985 | 25 | CIN | 38 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 261.1 | 242 | 111 | 103 | 73 | 155 | 3.55 |
7 | Catfish Hunter | 107 | 21 | 5 | 1973 | 27 | OAK | 36 | 36 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 256.1 | 222 | 105 | 95 | 69 | 124 | 3.34 |
8 | Bill Gullickson | 108 | 20 | 9 | 1991 | 32 | DET | 35 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 226.1 | 256 | 109 | 98 | 44 | 91 | 3.90 |
9 | Vic Raschi | 108 | 21 | 8 | 1950 | 31 | NYY | 33 | 32 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 256.2 | 232 | 120 | 114 | 116 | 155 | 4.00 |
10 | Mudcat Grant | 108 | 21 | 7 | 1965 | 29 | MIN | 41 | 39 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 270.1 | 252 | 107 | 99 | 61 | 142 | 3.30 |
11 | Bob Feller | 109 | 22 | 8 | 1951 | 32 | CLE | 33 | 32 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 249.2 | 239 | 105 | 97 | 95 | 111 | 3.50 |
12 | Vida Blue | 109 | 20 | 9 | 1973 | 23 | OAK | 37 | 37 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 263.2 | 214 | 108 | 96 | 105 | 158 | 3.28 |
13 | Rick Helling | 109 | 20 | 7 | 1998 | 27 | TEX | 33 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 216.1 | 209 | 109 | 106 | 78 | 164 | 4.41 |
14 | Jon Lieber | 109 | 20 | 6 | 2001 | 31 | CHC | 34 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 232.1 | 226 | 104 | 98 | 41 | 148 | 3.80 |
15 | Rick Sutcliffe | 109 | 20 | 6 | 1984 | 28 | TOT | 35 | 35 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 244.2 | 234 | 113 | 99 | 85 | 213 | 3.64 |
16 | Mike Cuellar | 109 | 20 | 9 | 1971 | 34 | BAL | 38 | 38 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 292.1 | 250 | 111 | 100 | 78 | 124 | 3.08 |
17 | Andy Pettitte | 110 | 21 | 8 | 2003 | 31 | NYY | 33 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 208.1 | 227 | 109 | 93 | 50 | 180 | 4.02 |
18 | Jack Sanford | 111 | 24 | 7 | 1962 | 33 | SFG | 39 | 38 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 265.1 | 233 | 110 | 101 | 92 | 147 | 3.43 |
19 | Jim Lonborg | 112 | 22 | 9 | 1967 | 25 | BOS | 39 | 39 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 273.1 | 228 | 102 | 96 | 83 | 246 | 3.16 |
20 | Bob Forsch | 112 | 20 | 7 | 1977 | 27 | STL | 35 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 217.1 | 210 | 97 | 84 | 69 | 95 | 3.48 |
21 | Dave Stewart | 112 | 21 | 9 | 1989 | 32 | OAK | 36 | 36 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 257.2 | 260 | 105 | 95 | 69 | 155 | 3.32 |
22 | Dave McNally | 112 | 20 | 7 | 1969 | 26 | BAL | 41 | 40 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 268.2 | 232 | 103 | 96 | 84 | 166 | 3.22 |
These are just about all really lucky seasons, in that the pitchers got a lot of run support or were the beneficiary of well above-average bullpen work.
That's not true for Jack Morris, of course...he just pitched to the score :)