Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Roger Clemens is really going to retire. Believe him. Right after the WBC, the fulfillment of his long career—I kid you.Never mind that he was in the Texas Rangers camp today, Texas being one of the teams he will deign to pitch for this season.
You see, Rocket was just sightseeing: "I've never pitched in Arizona, and I told him I wanted to come see things in Surprise." Ah, it was beautiful Surprise. The Rangers just happened to be encamped there. Surprise is Arizona's version of Mecca after all. And according to their website, there was a city council meeting today. I hope Roger got tickets.
But let's take Roger at his word. Let's say he does retire. Would his 2005 season be the best final season by a pitcher ever?
I looked up all pitched with at the lowest ERAs in their final season while throwing at least 50 innings. Here's what I got:
| Pitcher | Yr | Age | W | L | PCT | IP | ERA | WHIP | K:BB | K/9IP | Win Shares |
| Ted Abernathy | 1972 | 39 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 58.3 | 1.70 | 1.08 | 1.47 | 4.32 | 7 |
| Ned Garvin | 1904 | 30 | 5 | 16 | .238 | 193.7 | 1.72 | 1.21 | 1.18 | 4.37 | 11 |
| Sandy Koufax | 1966 | 30 | 27 | 9 | .750 | 323.0 | 1.73 | 0.98 | 4.12 | 8.83 | 35 |
| Eddie Matteson | 1918 | 33 | 5 | 3 | .625 | 67.7 | 1.73 | 1.06 | 1.13 | 2.26 | 6 |
| Eddie Plank | 1917 | 41 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 131.0 | 1.79 | 1.09 | 0.68 | 1.79 | 7 |
| Tom Henke | 1995 | 37 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 54.3 | 1.82 | 1.10 | 2.67 | 7.95 | 12 |
| Larry French | 1942 | 34 | 15 | 4 | .789 | 147.7 | 1.83 | 1.10 | 1.72 | 3.78 | 17 |
| Jim Scott | 1917 | 29 | 6 | 7 | .462 | 125.0 | 1.87 | 1.34 | 0.88 | 2.66 | 9 |
| Roger Clemens | 2005 | 42 | 13 | 8 | .619 | 211.3 | 1.87 | 1.01 | 2.98 | 7.88 | 25 |
| J.R. Richard | 1980 | 30 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 113.7 | 1.90 | 0.92 | 2.98 | 9.42 | 12 |
| Johnny Rigney | 1947 | 32 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 50.7 | 1.95 | 1.13 | 1.27 | 3.38 | 5 |
| Tex Pruiett | 1908 | 25 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 58.7 | 1.99 | 1.30 | 1.33 | 4.30 | 2 |
| Charlie Hodnett | 1884 | 23 | 12 | 2 | .857 | 121.0 | 2.01 | 1.13 | 2.56 | 3.05 | 13 |
| Jim St.Vrain | 1902 | 19 | 4 | 6 | .400 | 95.0 | 2.08 | 1.19 | 2.04 | 4.83 | 6 |
| Irv Higginbotham | 1909 | 27 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 89.3 | 2.12 | 1.02 | 1.55 | 3.43 | 6 |
| Tom Hilgendorf | 1975 | 33 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 96.7 | 2.14 | 1.23 | 1.37 | 4.84 | 10 |
| Buttons Briggs | 1905 | 29 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 168.0 | 2.14 | 1.15 | 1.31 | 3.64 | 12 |
| Dan Griner | 1918 | 30 | 1 | 5 | .167 | 54.3 | 2.15 | 1.14 | 1.47 | 3.64 | 4 |
| Ed Conley | 1884 | 19 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 71.0 | 2.15 | 1.20 | 1.50 | 4.18 | 4 |
| Tex Neuer | 1907 | 30 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 54.0 | 2.17 | 1.09 | 1.16 | 3.67 | 4 |
| Robb Nen | 2002 | 32 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 73.7 | 2.20 | 1.14 | 4.05 | 9.90 | 15 |
| Erv Lange | 1914 | 26 | 12 | 11 | .522 | 190.0 | 2.23 | 1.14 | 1.58 | 4.12 | 14 |
| Bill Bartley | 1907 | 22 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 56.3 | 2.24 | 1.12 | 0.84 | 2.56 | 3 |
| George Kaiserling | 1915 | 22 | 15 | 15 | .500 | 261.3 | 2.24 | 1.22 | 1.03 | 2.58 | 19 |
| Jim Devlin | 1877 | 28 | 35 | 25 | .583 | 559.0 | 2.25 | 1.18 | 3.44 | 2.27 | 60 |
Well, clearly ERA isn't the end-all be-all. Let's try Win Shares. Here are the most in a pitcher's final year:
| Pitcher | Yr | Age | W | L | PCT | IP | ERA | WHIP | K:BB | K/9IP | Win Shares |
| Jim Devlin | 1877 | 28 | 35 | 25 | .583 | 559.0 | 2.25 | 1.18 | 3.44 | 2.27 | 60 |
| Bill Sweeney | 1884 | 40 | 21 | .656 | 538.0 | 2.59 | 1.11 | 5.05 | 6.26 | 49 | |
| Charlie Ferguson | 1887 | 24 | 22 | 10 | .688 | 297.3 | 3.00 | 1.16 | 2.66 | 3.78 | 36 |
| Sandy Koufax | 1966 | 30 | 27 | 9 | .750 | 323.0 | 1.73 | 0.98 | 4.12 | 8.83 | 35 |
| Henry Boyle | 1889 | 28 | 21 | 23 | .477 | 378.7 | 3.92 | 1.37 | 1.02 | 2.31 | 28 |
| Toad Ramsey | 1890 | 25 | 24 | 17 | .585 | 348.7 | 3.69 | 1.22 | 2.52 | 6.63 | 28 |
| Roger Clemens | 2005 | 42 | 13 | 8 | .619 | 211.3 | 1.87 | 1.01 | 2.98 | 7.88 | 25 |
| James Burke | 1884 | 19 | 15 | .559 | 322.0 | 2.85 | 1.11 | 8.23 | 7.13 | 24 | |
| Eddie Cicotte | 1920 | 36 | 21 | 10 | .677 | 303.3 | 3.26 | 1.29 | 1.18 | 2.58 | 24 |
| Hank O'Day | 1890 | 27 | 22 | 13 | .629 | 329.0 | 4.21 | 1.58 | 0.58 | 2.57 | 23 |
| John Sowders | 1890 | 23 | 19 | 16 | .543 | 309.0 | 3.82 | 1.68 | 0.57 | 2.65 | 22 |
| Ben Sanders | 1892 | 27 | 12 | 19 | .387 | 268.3 | 3.22 | 1.28 | 1.24 | 2.58 | 22 |
| Fred Smith | 1890 | 27 | 19 | 13 | .594 | 286.0 | 3.27 | 1.27 | 1.29 | 3.65 | 22 |
| John Ewing | 1891 | 28 | 21 | 8 | .724 | 269.3 | 2.27 | 1.27 | 1.31 | 4.61 | 21 |
| Jim Conway | 1889 | 30 | 19 | 19 | .500 | 335.0 | 3.25 | 1.27 | 1.28 | 3.09 | 20 |
| Mark Baldwin | 1893 | 29 | 16 | 20 | .444 | 333.7 | 4.15 | 1.45 | 0.70 | 2.70 | 20 |
| Park Swartzel | 1889 | 23 | 19 | 27 | .413 | 410.3 | 4.32 | 1.46 | 1.26 | 3.22 | 19 |
| Walter Thornton | 1898 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | 215.3 | 3.34 | 1.31 | 1.00 | 2.34 | 19 |
| Lefty Williams | 1920 | 27 | 22 | 14 | .611 | 299.0 | 3.91 | 1.31 | 1.42 | 3.85 | 19 |
| George Kaiserling | 1915 | 22 | 15 | 15 | .500 | 261.3 | 2.24 | 1.22 | 1.03 | 2.58 | 19 |
| Win Mercer | 1902 | 28 | 15 | 18 | .455 | 281.7 | 3.04 | 1.29 | 0.50 | 1.28 | 19 |
| Harry Salisbury | 1882 | 27 | 20 | 18 | .526 | 335.0 | 2.63 | 1.05 | 3.65 | 3.63 | 19 |
| Jim McCormick | 1887 | 30 | 13 | 23 | .361 | 322.3 | 4.30 | 1.43 | 0.92 | 2.15 | 18 |
| Billy Hart | 1890 | 24 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 201.3 | 3.67 | 1.26 | 1.44 | 4.25 | 18 |
| Ted Lewis | 1901 | 28 | 16 | 17 | .485 | 316.3 | 3.53 | 1.23 | 1.13 | 2.93 | 18 |
| Henry Schmidt | 1903 | 30 | 22 | 13 | .629 | 301.0 | 3.83 | 1.47 | 0.80 | 2.87 | 18 |
| Van Mungo | 1945 | 34 | 14 | 7 | .667 | 183.0 | 3.20 | 1.27 | 1.42 | 4.97 | 17 |
| Larry French | 1942 | 34 | 15 | 4 | .789 | 147.7 | 1.83 | 1.10 | 1.72 | 3.78 | 17 |
| Chief Johnson | 1915 | 29 | 17 | 17 | .500 | 281.3 | 2.75 | 1.15 | 1.66 | 3.77 | 17 |
| Tommy Bond | 1884 | 28 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 232.0 | 3.49 | 1.14 | 7.94 | 5.55 | 17 |
| Red Donahue | 1906 | 33 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 241.0 | 2.73 | 1.30 | 1.52 | 3.06 | 17 |
| Ed Cushman | 1890 | 38 | 17 | 21 | .447 | 315.7 | 4.19 | 1.44 | 1.17 | 3.56 | 17 |
So there you are: Koufax, Clemens, and a bunch of nineteenth-century guys.
Actually, there are a lot of interesting stories in there. Devlin was kicked out of the game in 1877 in the Louisville Colonels game-throwing scandal. And of course, there are Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams who were of course a couple of the infamous "Black Sox" (though Cicotte did get played by a future Oscar nominee in David Strathairn and was way more sympathetic because he was hosed out of a bonus).
Sandy Koufax as you probably know retired due to arthritic pitching elbow. He quit instead of potentially becoming crippled.
Win Mercer was named the Tiger manager (Player-manager actually) at age 28 but pulled a Dave Chapelle and committed suicide after the season. He inhaled poisonous gas and left a note on the evils of women and gambling, maybe not in that order.
Henry Schmidt returned to his native Texas and decided not to go back to the East to play ball. He returned his 1904 contract unsigned, explaining that "I do not like living in the East and will not report."
Ted Lewis retired to become a full-time coach at Columbia.
Larry French and Van Lingle Mungo both went into the military. Actually, Mungo returned and then retired.
And a bunch of the players were creations of single-season leagues. Bill Sweeney was from the lowly Union Association. George Kaiserling was a Federal League creation who never made it in organized ball afterwards. Chief Johnson jumped his Reds contract to play for KC in the Federal League. It probably didn't bode well for his career when the Feds folded.
So there you have it, Clemens would probably be the best pitcher to just hang 'em up without a reason ever. That's all the more reason to believe he'll be pitching somewhere this season.
When Clemens left the Red Sox, he said he wanted to be closer to home in Texas and pitch for either the Rangers or Houston. The Red Sox and Red Sox nation had no hard feelings about that. What did Roger do? Not only did Clemens NOT get closer to home, he left the country to pitch for Toronto (A contender).
When Clemens didn't play for a pennant winner in toronto, he said he either wanted to retire or play closer to home. Toronto had no hard feelings. But Roger foxed them by signing with the Yankees so he could be on a series winning team.
He told the Yankees that he was going to retire and went back home to Texas where he signed on with Houston.
He is nothing more than a rich hick who cares only about his stats and how much money he can make by BSing his employers and the fans. If the man could only speak English instead of Hicktalk ("interpretated")
he might be a good interview, but don't wait for him to do so.
I'm sorry.....the guy is a bum.
When Clemens left the Red Sox, he said he wanted to be closer to home in Texas and pitch for either the Rangers or Houston. The Red Sox and Red Sox nation had no hard feelings about that. What did Roger do? Not only did Clemens NOT get closer to home, he left the country to pitch for Toronto (A contender).
When Clemens didn't play for a pennant winner in toronto, he said he either wanted to retire or play closer to home. Toronto had no hard feelings. But Roger foxed them by signing with the Yankees so he could be on a series winning team.
He told the Yankees that he was going to retire and went back home to Texas where he signed on with Houston.
He is nothing more than a rich hick who cares only about his stats and how much money he can make by BSing his employers and the fans. If the man could only speak English instead of Hicktalk ("interpretated")
he might be a good interview, but don't wait for him to do so.
I'm sorry.....the guy is a bum.
When Clemens left the Red Sox, he said he wanted to be closer to home in Texas and pitch for either the Rangers or Houston. The Red Sox and Red Sox nation had no hard feelings about that. What did Roger do? Not only did Clemens NOT get closer to home, he left the country to pitch for Toronto (A contender).
When Clemens didn't play for a pennant winner in toronto, he said he either wanted to retire or play closer to home. Toronto had no hard feelings. But Roger foxed them by signing with the Yankees so he could be on a series winning team.
He told the Yankees that he was going to retire and went back home to Texas where he signed on with Houston.
He is nothing more than a rich hick who cares only about his stats and how much money he can make by BSing his employers and the fans. If the man could only speak English instead of Hicktalk ("interpretated")
he might be a good interview, but don't wait for him to do so.
I'm sorry.....the guy is a bum.
When Clemens left the Red Sox, he said he wanted to be closer to home in Texas and pitch for either the Rangers or Houston. The Red Sox and Red Sox nation had no hard feelings about that. What did Roger do? Not only did Clemens NOT get closer to home, he left the country to pitch for Toronto (A contender).
When Clemens didn't play for a pennant winner in toronto, he said he either wanted to retire or play closer to home. Toronto had no hard feelings. But Roger foxed them by signing with the Yankees so he could be on a series winning team.
He told the Yankees that he was going to retire and went back home to Texas where he signed on with Houston.
He is nothing more than a rich hick who cares only about his stats and how much money he can make by BSing his employers and the fans. If the man could only speak English instead of Hicktalk ("interpretated")
he might be a good interview, but don't wait for him to do so.
I'm sorry.....the guy is a bum.
He did take a low salary his first year in Houston.
As a Yankee fan, I have no problem with him not retiring and going to Houston instead.
7 Cy Youngs, 2 rings, 330+ wins, 4000+ Ks do not equal "bum"
I never had a problem with Clemens leaving NY for Houston because he never officially filed retirement papers. The Yankees, who pride themselves on being sticklers for detail and observation, overlooked that and also did not offer arbitration. So they did not do their part in the matter.
Anyways, they got two rings and a set-up for a third (Game 7 of 2001), so there's not much to complain about.
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