Trivia

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Who are the only three pitchers in MLB history to have won at least 25 games in a season while working out of a five man rotation? Give me the pitcher and the corresponding season. One pitcher per post.

[Gwreck]

Bob Welch, Oakland, 1990

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Gwreck wrote: Bob Welch, Oakland, 1990

Correct. One down, two to go.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Guidry, '78.

(Thanks, "Your Birth Year" amusement-park novelty newspapers, for drilling it into my skull.)

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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Guidry, '78. (Thanks, "Your Birth Year" amusement-park novelty newspapers, for drilling it into my skull.)

Correct. One left. Here's a hint: This hasn't been done since Welch did it.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Verlander just missed out, right?

Clemens, '86?

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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Verlander just missed out, right? Clemens, '86?

Verlander just missed, but came close enough to trigger the research that generated this trivia question.

Nope on Rog.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

McLain, '68 (five-man?)

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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: McLain, '68 (five-man?)

McLain, Wilson, Lolich and Sparma were the '68 Tigers four-man rotation. Collectively, they started 137 of the Tigers' games.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Guidry had the advantage of a 163-game season.

I'll go with Seaver '69, though I don't know if folks consider that a five-man or a four-plus-man, or what.

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Edgy DC wrote: Guidry had the advantage of a 163-game season. I'll go with Seaver '69, though I don't know if folks consider that a five-man or a four-plus-man, or what.

Seaver '69 it is. Shame on everybody else.

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Edgy DC wrote: I'll go with Seaver '69, though I don't know if folks consider that a five-man or a four-plus-man, or what.

The standard's flexible and subjective. I mean, there's no rigid definition. Five Met pitchers each had at least 20 starts and accounted for 144 starts in '69.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Mickey Lolich won 25 games for the 1971 Tigers -- but that rotation was a hybrid four/five man rotation. The Tigers top four starters accounted for only 124 of the team's starts, but Lolich, who started 45 games that season, started every fourth game. And then some. Take Lolich out of the equation, and the '71 Tigers remaining top three starters (Coleman, Cain and Niekro) started a combined mere 79 games.

I'm going to extend the answers to include Steve Carlton, 1972. The Phils top four starters accounted for only 103 of the teams starts, and Carlton started just 36 games that year -- in line with the number of games today's aces, pitching on at least four days rest, start. It's been 21 seasons since a pitcher started more than 36 games in a season -- (Greg Maddux in 1991, 37 starts).

Roger Clemens never won 25 games in a season.