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Bob Forsch 1950-2011

Posted by Raphy
A day after the sad news about Matty Alou, today baseball lost another long time player in Bob Forsch. Forsch pitched for sixteen years in the big leagues primarily for the Cardinals in the late 70's and 80's amassing 168 wins in his big league career.

Click through for some career stat analysis.


Since the adoption of the All-Star game, Forsch has the third most career wins among pitchers who never appeared in the game.

Rk Player W From To Age G GS CG SHO GF L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+
1 Mike Torrez 185 1967 1984 20-37 494 458 117 15 13 160 .536 0 3043.2 3043 1501 1340 1371 1404 3.96 98
2 Danny Darwin 171 1978 1998 22-42 716 371 53 9 171 182 .484 32 3016.2 2951 1431 1286 874 1942 3.84 106
3 Bob Forsch 168 1974 1989 24-39 498 422 67 19 19 136 .553 3 2794.2 2777 1319 1169 832 1133 3.76 98
4 Paul Splittorff 166 1970 1984 23-37 429 392 88 17 13 143 .537 1 2554.2 2644 1243 1082 780 1057 3.81 101
5 Bill Gullickson 162 1979 1994 20-35 398 390 54 11 3 136 .544 0 2560.0 2659 1228 1118 622 1279 3.93 98
6 Rudy May 152 1965 1983 20-38 535 360 87 24 73 156 .494 12 2622.0 2314 1150 1007 958 1760 3.46 102
7 Tom Candiotti 151 1983 1999 25-41 451 410 68 11 11 164 .479 0 2725.0 2662 1299 1130 883 1735 3.73 108
8 Tim Belcher 146 1987 2000 25-38 394 373 42 18 13 140 .510 5 2442.2 2423 1253 1130 860 1519 4.16 102
9 Stan Bahnsen 146 1966 1982 21-37 574 327 73 16 90 149 .495 20 2529.0 2440 1127 1013 924 1359 3.60 97
10 Dennis Leonard 144 1974 1986 23-35 312 302 103 23 3 106 .576 1 2187.0 2137 1008 898 622 1323 3.70 107
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/4/2011.


Since 1919 there have only been 19 pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters. Forsch  was  the second least likely of those if you go by H/9IP.

Rk Player H/9 From To Age G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+
1 Mark Buehrle 9.48 2000 2011 21-32 390 365 27 8 6 161 119 .575 0 2476.2 2610 1171 1053 564 1396 3.83 120
2 Bob Forsch 8.94 1974 1989 24-39 498 422 67 19 19 168 136 .553 3 2794.2 2777 1319 1169 832 1133 3.76 98
3 Ken Holtzman 8.75 1965 1979 19-33 451 410 127 31 18 174 150 .537 3 2867.1 2787 1273 1111 910 1601 3.49 105
4 Bill Stoneman 8.60 1967 1974 23-30 245 170 46 15 27 54 85 .388 5 1236.1 1182 617 561 602 934 4.08 90
5 Carl Erskine 8.57 1948 1959 21-32 335 216 71 14 61 122 78 .610 13 1718.2 1637 830 763 646 981 4.00 102
6 Steve Busby 8.51 1972 1980 22-30 167 150 53 7 8 70 54 .565 0 1060.2 1003 483 438 433 659 3.72 105
7 Warren Spahn 8.29 1942 1965 21-44 750 665 382 63 67 363 245 .597 29 5243.2 4830 2016 1798 1434 2583 3.09 119
8 Jim Bunning 8.22 1955 1971 23-39 591 519 151 40 39 224 184 .549 16 3760.1 3433 1527 1366 1000 2855 3.27 114
9 Virgil Trucks 8.11 1941 1958 24-41 517 328 124 33 113 177 135 .567 30 2682.1 2416 1124 1009 1088 1534 3.39 117
10 Hideo Nomo 8.05 1995 2008 26-39 323 318 16 9 2 123 109 .530 0 1976.1 1768 993 932 908 1918 4.24 98
11 Justin Verlander 7.94 2005 2011 22-28 199 199 14 5 0 107 57 .652 0 1315.1 1161 555 517 410 1215 3.54 124
12 Allie Reynolds 7.92 1942 1954 25-37 434 309 137 36 97 182 107 .630 49 2492.1 2193 1026 915 1261 1423 3.30 110
13 Bob Feller 7.69 1936 1956 17-37 570 484 279 44 52 266 162 .621 21 3827.0 3271 1557 1384 1764 2581 3.25 122
14 Johnny Vander Meer 7.69 1937 1951 22-36 346 286 131 29 28 119 121 .496 2 2104.2 1799 915 805 1132 1294 3.44 107
15 Don Wilson 7.61 1966 1974 21-29 266 245 78 20 10 104 92 .531 2 1748.1 1479 698 611 640 1283 3.15 109
16 Jim Maloney 7.39 1960 1971 20-31 302 262 74 30 18 134 84 .615 4 1849.0 1518 729 655 810 1605 3.19 116
17 Randy Johnson 7.28 1988 2009 24-45 618 603 100 37 7 303 166 .646 2 4135.1 3346 1703 1513 1497 4875 3.29 136
18 Sandy Koufax 6.79 1955 1966 19-30 397 314 137 40 44 165 87 .655 9 2324.1 1754 806 713 817 2396 2.76 131
19 Nolan Ryan 6.56 1966 1993 19-46 807 773 222 61 13 324 292 .526 3 5386.0 3923 2178 1911 2795 5714 3.19 112
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/4/2011.

Forsch was also only one of 3 pitchers since 1950 to have 3 seasons with a batting OPS+ of at least 100. (min 50 PA)
Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Mike Hampton 3 1999 2002 26-29 Ind. Seasons
2 Bob Forsch 3 1975 1987 25-37 Ind. Seasons
3 Earl Wilson 3 1964 1968 29-33 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/4/2011.
at 3:21 PM

16 comments:

  1. AndyNovember 4, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    Raphy, I haven't yet figured out how to set up horizontal scrolling, so until then we should try to limit the number of columns we put in tables so that they don't overlap the sidebar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AndyNovember 4, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    Also I inserted a jump into your post so that it didn't occupy the entire first page.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John AutinNovember 4, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    A sad week for MLB brothers.

    I was always able to keep Bob and Ken straight in my mind, since each spent most of his career with his original team, and Bob was the much better hitter. But I could never remember which one threw 2 no-hitters. (It was Bob.)

    Pretty darn good career for a 26th-round draft pick. R.I.P., Bob Forsch.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GadflyNovember 4, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    Off topic, but ... if the opera ain't over til the fat lady sings, you should wait on your World Series winner tattoo; http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew;_ylt=Ag.FrKnA21kJlJhNWkQI4xA5nYcB

    ReplyDelete
  5. John AutinNovember 4, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    Wow, Dennis Leonard led the AL in total wins and IP from 1977-81, was 3rd in SO and 4th in WAR -- but never made the All-Star team?!?

    On further inspection, it turns out that Leonard consistently did much better in the 2nd half of the season, so I can't find any year when he really deserved to be chosen on the basis of that year alone.

    In the years 1977-81, Leonard went 36-40 before the Break, but 52-23 afterward.

    Forsch also was better in the 2nd half over his career: 86-76, 3.94 before the Break; 82-60, 3.57 afterwards. In his 20-win season, Forsch was 11-4 at the Break but with a 4.02 ERA; in the 2nd half he went 9-3, 2.68.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    Well, regarding the Texas WS Champs 2011 tat, there are some easy corrections if Texas would like to win in '14, '17, '19.

    Top story on that link as now (8pm eastern) is the "it makes sense for the Giants to trade Tim Lincecum." Wow, that is everywhere on the web right now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. GadflyNovember 4, 2011 at 8:18 PM

    Anon, yeah, JP Monrosi @ Fox started that speculation. I think they could sign some lower-priced help than Pujols or Fielder, hold out on seeing if Belt is for real, and keep Timmy. That said, JP notes next year's free agent class may be thinner than this year's.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 8:27 PM

    BTW it's Matty Alou.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AndyNovember 4, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    Thanks, #8, I fixed that for Raphy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    I knew that both Forsch brothers threw no-hitters, but thanks to JA I can now boast my knowledge and say that Bob was the one who threw two. I take him at his word.

    Brooklyn Mick

    ReplyDelete
  11. EdNovember 4, 2011 at 10:03 PM

    @5 JA Looks like Leonard's best chance for the All-Star game was 1976 when he was 9-3 with a 2.88 ERA at the break. Definitely could have been taken over Catfish Hunter but of course Hunter was a "star" and Leonard wasn't.

    ReplyDelete
  12. StevenNovember 5, 2011 at 1:42 AM

    I saw Forsch pitch many times for the Cardinals. He was a good pitcher and hitter, in addition to being a stable "clubhouse presence" on Cardinal teams, especially in the late seventies and early eighties, which needed one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. GadflyNovember 5, 2011 at 4:05 AM

    Bit of poignancy: In a podcast on Yahoo's Devil Ball Golf, Ozzie Smith, interviewed a few days ago, talks about Ken Forsch as a great clubhouse guy. http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/golf_experts/post/Devil-Ball-Golfcast-79-Ozzie-Smith?urn=golf-wp6672

    ReplyDelete
  14. EdNovember 5, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    In his first postseason appearance Bob Forsch pitched a complete game three hit shutout. He subsequently pitched 28 1/3 more postseason innings, during which he gave up 27 runs, 24 of which were earned. Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousNovember 5, 2011 at 11:08 AM

    I was at a Pioneer League game this season and was surprised to see Bob Forsch as the pitching coach for the visiting Billings (MT) Mustangs. I'm not sure why, but I always like seeing players I remember still involved in the game, especially at the lower level. RIP Bob.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousNovember 5, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    Just an observation, from the BBREF player page of Bob Forsch (D. November 2011) two of his contemporaries that are listed in the similarities section are Paul Splittorff (D.May 2011) and Mike Flanagan (D. August 2011), I know just a coincidence but eerie none the less. R.I.P to 3 of my favorite mounds men of the 70's and 80's

    ReplyDelete

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