The Class of Pitching : 1967 Was a Very Good Year: Carlton, Seaver, Niekro, Sutton, Ryan

In 1983, a bald, paunchy Gaylord Perry became the first pitcher in 20 years to win 300 games in the major leagues. At the age of 44, pitching near the end of his career for the Seattle Mariners, Perry was only the 15th pitcher to reach the plateau.

The victory marked Perry’s entry into an exclusive circle of Hall of Fame talent--a circle that already has begun to expand in an unprecedented way with the Class of ’67.

Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton and Nolan Ryan represent a unusual group of pitchers, children of generally the same era who are poised on the verge of greatness.

In a space of three years, beginning with Carlton’s entry into the 300 club in 1984, four pitchers who broke into the game at about the same time could break the barrier.

When Perry won his 300th game, historians had to look all the way back to 1963 for precedent. That’s when Early Wynn struggled to his 300th and final major league victory at age 43.

“There have been 16 previous pitchers who won 300 or more games,” says the 40-year-old Seaver, who won his 299th last Tuesday night for the Chicago White Sox. “I should do it. So should Phil Niekro and Don Sutton. That means that by next year, of the 19 pitchers who won 300 games, five--add Carlton and Perry--have pitched in the same era against one another.”

Behind Seaver in the charge comes 46-year-old Niekro of the New York Yankees, who has won 294 games, and Sutton of Oakland, another 40-year-old, who has 289 victories. Only Ryan, the junior of the class at 38, will have to work longer if he is to join the 300 club.

The Houston Astro pitcher has 239 victories, but he already has assured his entry into the Hall of Fame by setting all-time records with five no-hitters and 4,020 strikeouts.

“It’s exciting to read about Tom getting to 300, because I’m chasing him, like Phil Niekro is,” Sutton says. “It’s exciting to see someone getting there.”

While Seaver explains this group’s success, in part, through mechanics, conditioning and the proliferation of relief superstars, Sutton adds a little luck of the draw to the formula.

“Our bodies all are strong in areas where most of the strength of pitching is placed,” Sutton says, “and our deliveries are consistent. We don’t lapse in and out of them. We all take good care of ourselves as far as conditioning goes, but I may be the only one who has never been on the disabled list.”

Carlton, the only left-hander in the group, has 314 victories in 20 seasons and currently is on the Philadelphia Phillies disabled list for the first time in his career, with a strained rotator cuff. He had won only one of his eight decisions.

Carlton broke into the major leagues with St. Louis in 1965. He pitched in the majors for part of the 1966 season, then joined St. Louis full time in 1967. He is the only pitcher ever to win four Cy Young awards, all since he moved to Philadelphia in 1972. While Carlton had struggled for victories this year, his earned-run average was only 2.43.

Seaver, winner of three Cy Young awards, first pitched in the majors in 1967 with the New York Mets. He has been on the disabled list only once, in 1980 after he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Reacquired by the Mets in 1983, Seaver went to Chicago the next season after he was picked from the free-agent compensation pool. His record this year is 11-8.

“There’s no question that No. 300 will rate as one of the highlights of my career,” Seaver says, “but I haven’t set back and thought what it means to win 300 games. Right now, I can reflect on and enjoy thoughts of individual games. Reflection on 300 victories will come after I’m through pitching.”

Niekro (10-9) is the old man of the group, breaking into the game in 1964, after a year of military service. In 1967, however, he came into his own with the Atlanta Braves, leading the National League with an ERA of 1.87. He spent his only turn on the disabled list in 1982, then brought his knuckleball to the Yankees as a free agent after the ’83 season, his 20th with the Braves. If he doesn’t make 300 this year, many believe he could do it in 1986 as player-manager of the Braves.

Although he ranks among the leaders in victories, Sutton considers himself the odd man out. While the others have been more flamboyant, he feels his workmanlike style will not gain him entry into the Hall unless he wins 300.

“Professionally, winning 300 games is the most important thing I can think of,” says Sutton, 9-6 this season. “It’s the key to the Hall of Fame for me, I believe, and I want to make it.

“What I’ve done has been methodical, boring--not spectacular. Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton are lead-pipe cinches to make the Hall of Fame. I don’t think I am. I’ve been a mechanic in a world of nuclear scientists.”

Sutton joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966 after only two minor league seasons, was sent down once in ‘68, then resumed his full-time major league career in 1969. Although he has never won the Cy Young award, he has won 17 or more games six times in his 19 seasons. He pitched for the Dodgers until 1981, when went to Houston as a free agent, pitching briefly with Ryan until he was traded to the Brewers in 1982.

Ryan (8-9) also started his career with the Mets, appearing in two games in 1966. He resurfaced in 1968 with the Mets, after a brief tour of military duty and some time in the minors. He was traded to California in December, 1971. Two factors may have contributed to his lower victory total--trouble controlling a 100 m.p.h. fastball early in his career and six turns on the disabled list. He pitched two no-hitters in 1973, and one each in 1974, ’75 and ’81. He passed the previously unbroken 4,000 career strikeout mark this year.