Coral Gables, Florida (VIP-WIRE).- Friend Justin…: Let me introduce myself. I am the second pitcher in history with the most complete games, 646 of 688 that I started, second only to the teacher, Cy Young, 749 of 815.
Why am I writing to you? Well, because, apparently, that specialty, that of the full game, will soon disappear.
You have started 458 times and have only finished 26, while another good pitcher of the moment, Jacob deGrom, has only thrown four completes, of the 148 that he has started.
And something more remarkable still, the Mexican Julio Urías does not know what the honeys of the work are from top to bottom, because he has zero complete games, and he has already started 74.
All of this reminds me of Luis Tiant, when the manager went to get him out and he threw the ball into the stands and his glove into center field, of course in protest. Tiant pitched 187 complete games of the 484 he started. I think the last pitcher notable for the number of complete games of his was Roy Halladay, who, by the way, used to say…: “When I can’t throw the complete game, I seem to owe it to the fans and to my team.”
Halladay, a two-time Cy Young winner, finished his career, aged 16, in 2013 with a 67-for-390 completion. He had the most first-to-last innings in his time.
The others with the highest number of complete games in those years were Randy Johnson, 54; Livan Hernandez, 50; Curt Schilling, 49, and CC Sabathia, 38.
In his 390 appearances, Halladay won 203 times, with 105 losses and a 3.38 ERA. He gave up strikeouts to 2,117 and walked 564, in 2,749.1 innings. He was a complete labors leader in seven campaigns.
In addition, with the Phillies, he was the author of the 20th perfect game in history, when on May 29, 2010 he beat the Marlins with a 1-0 scoreboard.
He was inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 2019, with 363 votes, which was 85.4 percent. Anyway, friend Justin, it’s my nostalgia for that time, when it was an insult that they didn’t let you finish your game.
Now you, from the fifth inning, come to the bullpen every so often to see if the guy who’s going to relieve you warms up. It has changed the game. Imagine if it has changed! That you earn 33 million dollars per season, while the most they paid me was three thousand.
But “to whom Papa God gives it, let Saint Peter tell him, amen.”
Enjoy your profession and your money. Forget full games… Hugs, Pud.
#Letters #Pud #Galvin #Justin #Verlander