Randy Johnson recorded his 300th win at the age of 45 yesterday evening, as the Giants defeated the Nationals, 5-1.
One could argue that Johnson is the best left-handed pitcher since Sandy Koufax. I would go even farther and say that he is the best ever. Johnson has put up amazing numbers during the steroid-era, and I find it hard to speculate that he was ever on anything to help him. Now that Johnson has hit the golden milestone for pitchers, he most likely will retire at seasons end.
That brings into question, who is next in line? CC Sabathia is the most talked about player as having a legit shot at 300 wins. Even though Jamie Moyer has 250 wins, it is unlikely that he will pitch long enough, since his age is hovering around 75. Sabathia currently has 122 wins, and would need to average 18 wins a season to reach the magical plateau by age 39. One cannot predict that he would be able to perform at such a high level, or pitch that long. Of course, if his health remains to be as good as it has, he may be able to pitch beyond 40 like Randy Johnson has and achieve it. I don’t think he will.
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Based on that picture, I’d say it was easy to speculate he did ‘roids.
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I think he took roids before he got to New York, would explain why he hated that cameraman so much.
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halladay?
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cbh-he was looking for his inner-new yorker
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Koufax also had the advantage that the mound was higher back then.
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I don’t think anyone currently pitching in the bigs gets to 300. 250 will become the new 300.
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As sparty said, he won 300 during the steroid era. Had almost 100 complete games, and made miz feel respectable about his haircut. The only way he juiced in NY was if he bumped into A-Rod.
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Great picture!!! LMAO.
I read Shanoff’s post this morning and he said the same thing about 250 being the new 300. Total bull. Maybe 275 but 250 doesn’t get you into the hall by itself (although any pitcher with stellar numbers and 200 wins could still qualify).
So many people were saying after that no current pitcher was going to get 300 wins and at that time Johnson was over 40 and out with major back problems. Pitchers don’t win as many games each year but they pitch longer.
If CC, Santana, maybe Greinke, Halladay, etc. pitch until they are 45 then they all have a chance.
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no, 300 is still the number. lowering the standard would be bullshit.
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just looking at the Trib, they show the next guys who could possibly win 300 based on their career pace (which is a stretch):
Pettitte (220 wins) by 42 (mid-2014)
Oswalt (131) by age 41 (late 2018)
Buehrle (128) by age 41 (mid-2020)
Zambrano (99) by age 43 (early-2024)
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SAE, granted that they won’t maintain their career pace but pitching into their mid 40’s is not a stretch anymore either. If Oswalt pitches until he is 45, he would do it.
Also if someone like CC pitches for the Yanks, he could actually win more games per year than he has.
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