catfish hunter has the most complete games in mlb history.
catfish hunter has the most complete games in mlb history.
who has the most complete games in mlb history?
catfish hunter
james shields threw 11 complete games in the 2011 season for the tampa bay rays, becoming the first pitcher to reach double digits in a single season since cc sabathia threw 10 complete games for the cleveland indians and milwaukee brewers in 2008. the last pitcher to throw as many as 15 complete games in a single season was curt schilling, who accomplished that feat for the philadelphia phillies in 1998. the last pitcher to throw 20 complete games in a single season was fernando valenzuela, who did so for the los angeles dodgers in 1986. the last pitcher to throw 25 complete games in a season was rick langford, who had 28 for the oakland athletics in 1980. the last pitcher to throw 30 complete games in a season was catfish hunter, who did so for the new york yankees in 1975.
complete game
in the early 20th century, it was common for most good major league baseball (mlb) pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start, barring injury or ejection. pitchers were expected to complete games they started. over the course of the 20th century, complete games became less common, to the point where a good modern pitcher typically achieves only 1 or 2 complete games per season. (in the 2012 mlb season, 2.6% of starts were complete games.) to put this in perspective, as recently as the 1980s, 10–15 complete games a year by a star pitcher was not unheard of, and in 1980, oakland athletics pitcher rick langford threw 22 consecutive complete games. years earlier, robin roberts of the philadelphia phillies threw 28 consecutive complete games, spanning the 1952 and 1953 seasons.
complete game