But remember that a pitcher who started enough games to garner the most losses in a decade must have been pretty good.
And, in fact, he was.
Only 10 pitchers had at least 5 seasons between 1980 and 1987 with 120 IP and an ERA+ of at least 109:
Rk | Yrs | |
---|---|---|
1 | Dave Stieb | 7 |
2 | Jack Morris | 6 |
3 | Charlie Hough | 5 |
4 | Mike Witt | 5 |
5 | Fernando Valenzuela | 5 |
6 | Bert Blyleven | 5 |
7 | Jerry Reuss | 5 |
8 | Dan Quisenberry | 5 |
9 | Jim Clancy | 5 |
10 | Floyd Bannister | 5 |
SPOILERS!!! (Dave Stieb is going to appear on this countdown...)
Clancy, Stieb, and Morris are the only ones with at least 3 seasons with 240 IP and a 120 ERA+ over that same period.
Over that same period, Clancy was a top-20 pitcher in WAR, and that's even with his stinker seasons in 1981 and 1984.
By the late 1980s, Clancy was remembered only as a guy who put up those stinker seasons (and a few more after 1987). How quickly we all forgot that he was a top starting pitcher for numerous seasons earlier in the decade.
The card is 1985 Donruss #439, and it's one of my favorites. I love how the angled line on the wall behind Clancy runs into the V-neck of his uniform. The angles on the Blue Jays logo as well as his tilted eyebrows all add to the angled feel of this card. Tie in Clancy's tough-as-nails smile and it's a wonderful card. The only weird thing is that Clancy was rarely photographed without his mustache.
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